Chain Reaction
by Papergirlpapertownn
Summary: Three days before her twenty-third birthday, Jasmine West's life went up in a flash of lightning. Nine months later, she finds herself with the job of her dreams and abilities beyond her comprehension.
1. Making History

To understand exactly what I'm about to tell you, you need to do one thing first, you need to believe the impossible.

Can you do that? Good.

You see that red blur? That's my best friend in the entire world, and that small figure watching him from the building he's running past?

That's me.

The person who just picked up a car with her mind? Also me.

That purple glow around me? Just a side effect of the impossible.

My name is Jasmine West and my best friend Barry Allen is the fastest man alive.

But this is not his story. It's mine.

I was born with health troubles, spending most of my childhood in and out of hospitals. Mostly affecting my brain.

I wasn't supposed to live past age thirteen.

I did.

"Jaz! Hurry up!" Iris' grating voice called up the stairs, "We're gonna be late for you and Barry's geekfest!"

Jasmine rolled her eyes, trying on her third coat that morning before settling for the brown trench her dad had given her as an early birthday present that year. Grabbing the portfolio on the edge of the dresser, she caught one last glance in the mirror before descending the staircase, her bouncy curls flying past her cheek.

Iris tore her eyes away from her phone to send Jasmine a judgemental look before grabbing her keys, "Finally," she exclaimed, "I thought you'd never get ready"

"Well," Jasmine scoffed, locking the door behind her, "Today's the big day," she cocked an eyebrow, "or did you forget like you do about everything in my life?"

Iris playfully slapped her shoulder, "I didn't forget, I know that today's your big atomic accelerator thingy"

"And…?"

Iris paused, taking an extra-long sip of her coffee before flapping her lips back and forth, "And it means a lot to you and Barry"

"Oh my god" Jasmine sighed, scratching her eyebrow, "You totally forgot about my interview today."

"No-No I did not" Iris defended, pulling her phone out, "I even wrote it down in my calendar see?"

Jasmine refused to look at the bright screen, biting her cheek as she reflected on her sister's typical behavior.

"Do my accomplishments really mean that little to you?"

"No!" Iris protested, "No, It's just, between you and Barry I can't keep up with all the sciencey stuff you guys do"

A scoff left her mouth, "This 'sciencey stuff'" Jasmine said, "Is what got me my PhD and it's the reason I'm able to get this interview with Dr. Wells in the first place."

Iris continued to defend herself, "In my defense," Iris began, "I'm dealing with my own thesis and Barry's issues."

Jasmine shook her head, "Yeah, well at least we know who you prefer" she muttered, refusing to continue arguing with the stubborn woman beside her.

They walked the rest of the trip in silence, reaching the precinct with plenty of time to spare. Choosing to try and calm herself down from being in Iris' presence for too long, Jasmine decided to visit her Dad's cubicle, a wide smile on her face as she knocked on the wood.

"Knock knock!"

Her voice caught the cop by surprise, "Jazzy!" Detective Joe West stood up at the sight of his youngest child, engulfing her petite frame in one of his famous hugs, "I wasn't expecting to see you here"

Jasmine managed to break free and shrugged, gesturing to her portfolio, "Just thought I'd stop by before heading out to STAR"

Joe cocked an eyebrow, leaning against the desk, "You mean, before you and _Barry _head out to STAR?"

Jasmine tilted her head in a gesture not unlike the man before her, "For the last time Dad, Barry is just a friend," Joe chuckled, "And, he deserves a break after all the stress you and Singh put on him" Jasmine continues, defending the kid she grew up with.

Joe's chuckle continued to permeate the air before nodding upstairs, "He's in his lab, I'm sure he'd like to say hi to you"

Jasmine rolled her eyes, unable to keep the smile from spreading across her face as she turned around and almost bumped squarely into a blonde man with several cups of coffee in his hand.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry" He immediately apologized, moving out of the way.

Jasmine stifled the giggle coming out of her mouth, "Uh, don't worry about it, I think you've had a bit of a rough day." She gestured to the cups of coffee upon seeing the confused look in his bright blue eyes.

"What? Oh, yeah right." His laugh was easy-going, reminding her of Barry's, "I'm uh, Eddie. Eddie Thawne." He introduced, "I'd shake your hand but…"

"Coffee" Jasmine finished for him, "Uh, I'm Jasmine" She waved, "I'm Detective West's daughter"

A look of recognition passed over his face and she thought she caught the slightest glimpse of fear swirl in his eyes. Jasmine restrained her laughter.

"Detective West?" Eddie asked again. Jasmine nodded. Eddie gulped, "I'm his uh, new transfer from Keystone. I just started a few weeks ago,"

Jasmine made a noise of clarity, "Ahh, That's why you have that look in your eye," the confused look passed over Eddie's face again before Jasmine leaned in, "Between you and me, He's only scary on the outside. He's a giant teddy bear on the inside."

Eddie sighed in relief, "That's good to know."

Jasmine felt a buzz in her pocket, checking her phone for a text from Iris.

Barry's talking science and I need you to translate!

She rolled her eyes before tucking her portfolio folder back in her arms, "Well it was nice to meet you Eddie, Good Luck."

She spun on her feet, walking so fast out of the main floor she didn't hear Eddie call back to her with a dorky smile on his face.

Jasmine apparently entered the lab at the right time, because Iris was right, Barry was on one of his rants.

She allowed herself to observe the sight before her, watching Barry's wild gesticulating and the bright glow in his eyes as he continued to discuss Dr. Wells' contributions to particle physics. Usually, Jasmine would be just as interested in this conversation, but she was too busy staring at the small creases in Barry's forehead that would grow just a tad deeper when he got excited. She was too busy staring at the pink that flushed his cheeks, sending her stomach fluttering whenever she looked at him.

"You gotta get yourself a girlfriend," Iris joked, eating from a freshly purchased basket of fries. Barry turned toward the door, "You understand, right Jas?"

Her boots scuffled across the floor, not wanting to get involved in another debate about Barry's love life.

"Science can be your love" She offered, ignoring how cheesy and weird that sounded, "There's nothing wrong with that."

Barry ran his hands through his hair, exasperated with both West sisters.

"See?" Iris continued, "Even miss Married to Science herself thinks you need to get a girlfriend."

Jasmine's chest tightened and she moved to defend herself, "Whoa, I didn't say that."

"So what were you saying-"

"I definitely wasn't saying he should-"

Joe's booming voice interrupted their overlapping tones, "Girls, leave him alone, He's working."

Iris turned toward the doorway, sending a gentle wave over to their dad, "Hi dad."

"Your testing is done," Barry swiftly changed the subject, handing over a folder to the detective, "I think the Mardon brothers are hiding on a farm"

Joe sent him a creased brow that Jasmine had seen too many times. Her eyes wandered the lab, ignoring the urge to tidy up Barry's messy workspace.

"The fecal matter I found on the street," Barry continued, pulling Jasmine back into the conversation, "it was cow manure, which contains traces of oxytetracycline"

Her ears perked up at that, "an antibiotic?" She questioned, moving closer to examine the folder, only for the results to be torn away from her eyes.

Jasmine's grassy irises rolled themselves almost to the back of her head before crossing her arms and catching Barry's nod.

"There are only four farms in the area that use it in their feed," Barry continued, "And I'm willing to bet you'll find a sweet Shelby parked at one of them."

Joe's look moved from skeptical to impressed, but Jasmine had learned to read him. Anyone else wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

"So Dad," Iris' voice turned sickly sweet, "Since Barry solved your poop problem, how about letting him go to STAR Labs?"

Joe looked between the three of them, a deep sigh passing his lips before closing the folder and nodding, "Fine, Go"

Jasmine couldn't stop the squeal from leaving her mouth as she engulfed Barry in a hug, linking her arm with his as they left the lab.

"Can you believe we're actually going to see Harrison Wells live in person?" Jasmine squealed as soon as their feet hit the pavement.

Barry let a chuckle pass his lips, his eyes staring forward at the figure in front of him.

Jasmine tried to ignore the constriction in her chest as Barry's gaze lingered on Iris. She dropped her arm from his, leaning closer to whisper in his ear, "You know she'd probably say yes if you asked her out."

Barry turned toward her, "Is this you finally giving me permission to date your sister?"

"I never said you couldn't" Jasmine teased, biting down on her lower lip.

"But you never said I could either, see there's a difference," Barry countered.

Jasmine chuckled, "What like that would've stopped you?"

"Oh come on you know-"

"It's not my fault you never-"

"Everything okay back there?" Iris spoke up, stopping in her tracks to face her two friends behind her. Jasmine felt her back straighten unnaturally, Barry joining her.

"Yeah," Barry shrugged, scratching the back of his head, "Why- uh-why wouldn't it be?"

Iris shrugged back, "No reason." Her dark eyes glassed over and she allowed Barry to move forward before latching onto Jasmine. "Did you see that?!"

"What?"

Iris' wide smile and playful smack caught her off guard, "Barry was totally flirting with you!"

Jasmine scoffed, "Pfft, no he wasn't." She assured her older sister, "Besides, he doesn't see me like that."

"Oh whatever!" Iris let go of her sister's arm, moving up a few paces to walk side by side with Barry, leaving Jasmine in the dust once again.

The bubbling in her stomach and chest constrictions had returned, and she forced herself to finally focus on her interview.

She was ready.

This was what she had been working toward literally her entire life.

And it had just fallen into her lap.

She couldn't let herself be distracted by Iris' antics and Barry's hopeless crush. And she definitely couldn't let herself be distracted by her own feelings for the CSI.

He was Iris'.

He would always be Iris'.

She let herself go over interview questions and possible answers in her head, while Barry continued his endless pining.

She didn't plan on not getting this job because of her shoddy love life.

It wasn't long before they found themselves outside the building she had spent her whole life dreaming about working at and she stared at the circular glassy exterior, trying to catch her breath.

"You good Jas?" Barry's voice pulled her out of stupor, bringing her back down to the ground.

"Huh?" She turned toward him, the CSI staying behind while Iris marched right in, "Yeah, I'm fine, I just...can't believe I'm here."

Barry patted her shoulder, pulling her in for a side hug. "You're gonna nail it."

She sent him a tight smile, her grip bending the portfolio she held in her hands as she separated from her sister and best friend.

The receptionist peered at her over his glasses, something lingering in the look he gave her. As if he couldn't believe who they were hiring nowadays.

"Head up the stairs, first door on the left" He remarked, refusing to say anything more as he went back to scrolling through the feed on his phone.

Jasmine's smile faded slightly as she stumbled away, "Um, thank you?" she stuttered out, letting her boots click against the glass, her feet starting to hurt from walking in them all day.

She followed the receptionist's instructions, tracing her fingers over the bright gold plate with the name Dr. Harrison Wells etched into the metal.

She was being interviewed by the man who had reinvented physics. The man whose presentations had inspired her to try and recreate one of his projects at the science fair.

The man who was reinventing history as they spoke.

But for some reason, Jasmine couldn't shake the anxiety that was rattling her head.

An hour passed.

Then thirty minutes.

Clouds had started to gather and Jasmine shot a look at her watch. She really should be getting home if she wanted to avoid the storm.

But no one had come in to tell her otherwise. And what if Dr. Wells was on his way right now? It wouldn't look good for her to leave.

Plus she didn't know when she'd get another chance like this.

She had to stay.

She'd worked too hard for this.

A ringing filled her ears, and she shook her head, reaching into her bag to pull out her bottle of advil, shaking it to release two pills into her hands, swallowing the medication as she stared out of the open window at the presentation happening outside.

A shaking rattled her feet and she braced herself against the chair she had been sitting in for the better part of an hour.

Her stomach dropped as bright yellow light filled her vision, a bright bolt of lightning from the storm knocking her backwards into the wall.

She groaned, head throbbing and ears ringing as her vision went black.


	2. Interlude

_**December 2013:**_

She stared at the EKG, willing it to move faster, willing for it to malfunction, to do anything than just remain at a steady pace.

"You know, some people talk to them," A boyish voice called to her, and she turned around, meeting the dark eyes of one of the STAR Labs workers.

Cisco, she remembered.

He was the one that carried her brother in.

She said nothing, only nodding as she stared at Barry's lifeless form. As if sensing her need to be alone, Cisco left the room, the door closing and allowing her some privacy.

"You really did it this time carebear" her voice broke, letting the pressure from behind her eyes break, "How am I supposed to head back to New York now?"

_**January 2014:**_

It had become habit at this point. Go to class, head to Jitters, have Iris drive her to STAR to visit Barry and Jasmine.

Even if she and her brother had left on bad terms, she hadn't wanted this. She hadn't wanted him to miss out on her life.

"I uh, had an exam today," She told him, still uneasy with talking to him, "You would've been proud of me. It was all about physics and I even remembered the simple equations you and I would forget all the time."

She played with the cardboard warmer of her coffee, refusing to stare at the lifeless body, refusing to listen to the endless beeping of the steady heartbeat.

"Central City Community isn't as great as NYU, but they said I might actually get to graduate early. Huh, Carebear? How cool is that?"

She still wasn't used to the silence.

_**February 2014:**_

"You know I think Iris is pissed I'm taking up all your time." She continued, letting herself chuckle. "When we were celebrating my birthday, she made it very clear that she did not approve of me hogging you all the time."

She picked at the strings in her gloves. "But when else am I supposed to talk to you? I haven't seen you in four years and she still thinks she's entitled to your time."

She bit down hard on her chapped lips, trying to keep her anger restrained.

"Iris isn't the only one in the world who can claim you." She continued, the steady heartbeat a comfort instead of making her afraid. "If anything, that right belonged to me the moment I left Mom's womb."

She gulped down her feelings, shooting a look toward the door to make sure the older girl wasn't listening. "I'm your sister. I get more rights than she ever will."

_**March 2014:**_

"Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you" She sang quietly, "Happy birthday dear Barry"

He showed no response to that.

She let out a sigh. "Happy birthday to you."

The cupcake trembled in her hands, the soft light of the singular candle lighting up her face. She reached over to grab his hand in hers.

"Make a wish, Carebear."

She blew the candle out.

_**April 2014:**_

Easter came and went.

April Fools came and went.

Iris and her never made it to STAR Labs.

_**May 2014:**_

The chair was squeaking the next time she came in. She rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone. She really did not wanna talk to Barry about her day today.

Especially with the grades she got back.

Central City just wasn't her place. She never thrived here.

Barry always did.

She didn't want to picture the disappointed expression he would be wearing if he was awake. She didn't wanna picture him helping her out with her homework.

She just wanted to sit in the quiet and spend time with her brother.

However long he had left.

_**June 2014:**_

She stepped through the door, shutting it behind her with a wide smile on her face. The monitor was still beeping steadily as she sat down in the quiet chair.

"Guess what Bar?" She teased, every interaction with him growing more real as she made more visits, "I finally did it! I graduated college!"

Silence.

She let a chuckle escape her lips. "I can now join the rest of the Allens in the collegiate hall of fame." She showed him her diploma, having brought it for this exact occasion, "I guess a Doctorate is next huh?"

Silence.

She placed the diploma back into her purse, reaching out to take her usual position holding his hand.

"I wish you guys could've been there." She confessed, swallowing nervously, "All of you. Even dad. But I think you would've been the proudest of me."

She smiled softly at the old memories of him doing her homework late at night while she drew. "Joe was there though, and I suppose that counts for something huh." She shrugged, "I think that's the most attention he ever showed me."

Barry remained where he was. She didn't mind.

She was used to the silence.

_**July 2014:**_

She didn't say anything. She didn't even try to smuggle in any sparklers or noisemakers. But somehow the fourth of July spirit had found itself at STAR Labs that night, because Barry wasn't in his usual room.

In fact, he had been placed in a more open area, right next to a window overlooking downtown Central City.

The perfect view of the fireworks.

She was so enamored with the sight, she didn't even notice the long dark hair peeking out from behind the door to catch her expression.

Cisco couldn't keep the smile off his face.

_**August 2014:**_

She didn't know why she was here. Other than a habit and to ease Iris' guilty conscience. She had nothing to tell him.

She had nothing to say to him.

He was close to death anyway. She should just pull the plug now and get it over with. What's one more family member lost to the jaws of death?

The universe has made it clear it will never care about her family.

The Allens aren't important to the universe.

They never have been.

"You were supposed to stay alive," She spoke blandly, standing over his bed, "You were the one that was going to be better. You were _supposed_ to be better so I didn't have to be"

Silence. Fuck she hated that response.

"Instead you went and got yourself struck by fucking lightning!" Her breathing moved up and down, back and forth, shaky with every inhale and exhale. "I was the one who was supposed to miss your life, not the other way around."

Silence.

"You were supposed to be the one to watch me graduate! To place the lei around my neck and take a billion pictures that looked awful but you post them anyway." She couldn't stop herself once she started, "You were supposed to be the one to cheer me on and celebrate birthdays and holidays with me!"

Silence.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"God can you just say something please!?"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Fuck"

Beep. Beep.

She thrashed, the infernal sound sending her into a bout of cathartic rage. "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!"

Hot water streamed down her face, burning her lips as she shook the EKG monitor, willing it to change, to accelerate, to do anything except beep at a steady pace and keep her brother comatose for another month.

Beep. Beep...Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Fuck. She realized, bringing a hand to her mouth in horror.

The lights flickered, and Barry flatlined.

_**September 2014:**_

"It's weird not starting school this month" She began, twiddling her thumbs back and forth. "Iris offered me a job at Jitters, but I actually wanna try making my way in the world Bar,"

She shot a look at the door, "Without any help from the Wests."

"I do kinda miss Jasmine though," She admitted, cringing inwardly as she did. "She never treated me the way Iris and Joe did"

She swiped her hands on her pants, ignoring the tears dripping down her cheeks, "I have an interview for Mercury Labs tomorrow" She picked at the threads of her sweater, "I wish you were here to help me out."

A mirthless chuckle left her lips, "I wish you were here for a lot of things."

She hated the silence that followed.


	3. Nine Months Later

**_Hey, y'all just wanna say thanks for the love you've been giving this story and don't worry the pilot will be over by the next chapter._**

**_Please favorite and review, they make my heart so happy!_**

Her vision returned and forced her upward, too busy trying to gauge her surroundings she didn't see the frantic hurrying of the brunette woman beside her.

"Hey, hey" the other woman spoke, her tone calm, "Listen to me, everything is okay."

Jasmine sprang out of her seat, ignoring the hospital gown that clung to her small frame. She glanced at her side and grabbed one of the tools left on the table near her hospital bed, "Where the hell am I?" She asked, brandishing what she had at her disposal (a scalpel) at the brunette like her father had taught her in their self-defense lessons.

The woman gasped before gingerly reaching out and plucking the tool from her hand, the shock preventing Jasmine from making any actual threats, "You're at STAR Labs. My name is Caitlin Snow." She announced, "I've been the doctor overseeing your progress."

"Progress?"

Caitlin moved closer, still keeping her distance but trying to run physicals on Jasmine, "When we found you, you were close to brain death. By some miracle, you made a full recovery."

Jasmine grabbed the hand of the Doctor, using a gentle grip so she didn't scare her again.

"That's not humanly possible," She told the other Doctor.

Caitlin smiled, "We know, that's why we had you moved here. So Dr. Wells could get a better look at you."

Jasmine didn't even register the name drop until much later. "I'm sorry, did you say Dr. Wells?"

Caitlin nodded, "Yes, he was very impressed with your case," She continued, scrolling through a tablet, "And don't worry, He's still offering you the job if you want it."

Jasmine smiled, happy her entire life hadn't been thrown down the drain when that bolt of lightning hit her.

Jasmine shook her head, "Is it possible for me to see the brain scans?" She asked, resorting back to her timid nature so she didn't anger her new co-worker. Not that it mattered, she had already brandished a scalpel in her face.

Caitlin nodded, tapping a few buttons before handing her the tablet. Jasmine scrolled through the images, unable to believe what she was actually seeing. Caitlin was right.

Somehow she had been on the verge of brain death, but without any outside help, she had managed to make a full recovery.

Her brain had regenerated itself to full health.

And her frontal lobe was heavily active.

What the hell had that lightning done to her? It wasn't until she hit the final image that she caught sight of the date.

Nine months.

She had been in a coma for Nine Months.

What about her dad?  
Iris?

What about Barry?

Had they all moved on without her? Had Iris finally realized the small feelings she held for Barry and given them a chance? Maybe they were already engaged, maybe Iris and Barry had been in a committed relationship during those nine months because she hadn't been there to get in their way and awkwardly third wheel on every outing.

"Ahh Miss West, you're awake,"

Jasmine froze. She knew that voice.

It had been one of the last things she'd heard before entering a coma.

It had been on podcasts she had listened to in order to keep focus during grad school.

It had been her inspiration since she was ten years old.

She whirled around, catching sight of the man who was supposed to interview her that night.

His dark brown hair and glasses unchanged.

But there was one significant difference.

While the explosion had cost Jasmine months of her life, it had cost Harrison Wells the use of his legs.

He wheeled forward, extending his hand out, "It's nice to finally meet you. Although I do regret leaving you hanging for so long the night of your interview,"

Jasmine brushed the comment aside, too elated by the idea of shaking her hero's hand to be annoyed by that anymore.

"It's fine, you were dealing with more important things." She shrugged.

Wells' lips twisted at the side, pulling his mouth into a small smirk at her erratic behavior.

Suddenly her heart threatened to break out of her chest as a familiar voice filled her ears.

"Hey, Dr. Wells I was wondering-" Barry froze at the sight of one of his oldest friends standing before him in nothing but a hospital gown.

Jasmine examined Barry. He looked well. Why was he at STAR Labs in a sweatshirt that looked too small for him and sweatpants that looked too big?

"Jas?" He whispered.

She wasted no time once her name fell past his lips, she ran forward, ignoring Caitlin's warnings behind her and engulfed Barry into a bear-like hug, the CSI lifting her off the floor, the momentum spinning her around.

When she finally was placed back on the ground, she couldn't form the words necessary to explain what was running through her mind.

All she knew was that Barry was here. He was okay. And that meant she would be okay.

"What are you doing here?" Jasmine asked, a wide smile across her face.

Barry scratched the back of his head, his nervous tick unchanged. "What am I doing here? I was struck by lightning. Why are you here?"  
His smile turned to a frown, creasing his forehead in a worried gesture as the pair turned to look at Caitlin and Dr. Wells.

"Barry was hit by the same explosion you were, Jasmine," Wells confessed, her name sounding strange on his lips. He seemed to say it with a sense of respect she hadn't heard from anyone else. Not even her own father.

Her brain was working overtime, somehow putting the pieces together.

"The particle accelerator, your lab-" She stopped herself at Barry's shrug.

Wells cut her off, "Your father and sister gave me permission to bring you both here. He refused to have you two separated."

"Iris?" Barry asked the same time Jasmine went, "My Dad?"

Wells nodded, "Iris came to see you quite often Jasmine,"

Jasmine crinkled her brow, unable to fathom why Iris would stay by her side for that long.

She caught Barry's downcast look.

"She tried to see you too Mr. Allen," Wells assured him, "But unfortunately, your time was always taken up by another visitor."

Barry met Jasmine's bright green gaze and the two knew exactly who he was talking about. Joe always had a soft spot for Barry, especially after his mom.

"They both talk a lot" Caitlin responded.

The younger guy behind Barry couldn't contain the smile on his face as he spoke, "Also, the sister's pretty hot."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. Great.

Another guy who's obsessed with her older, prettier sister.

"We have to go," Jasmine and Barry unanimously agreed, the latter grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the room, ignoring the protests of the Doctors behind him as he dragged Jasmine halfway down the hallway.

"Um Barry," She caught his attention, "I kinda need something other than a hospital gown to wear."

His blue eyes widened at the insinuation and he ran back to the open door, grabbing something in the room beside her own and a question hanging from his lips.

"Can I keep the sweatshirt?"

"Sure, keep the sweatshirt," Wells told him. Barry nodded and met Jasmine back down the middle of the hallway, handing her a pair of running shorts.

She snuck them on, tightening the elastic as tightly as she could before turning back to Barry, who was holding out his newly acquired STAR Labs sweatshirt.

"Here, you need it more than I do,"

Jasmine wanted to protest, to tell him that he deserved it. But instead, she took the soft material and threw it around her head, pulling the collar length curls out of the crew-neck.

"I'll give it back tomorrow, promise."

Barry chuckled and the two began to find their way out of the winding hallways and into the fresh air.

Goosebumps prickled her skin and she was grateful for the sweatshirt, although she does think Barry could've done better than baggy running shorts for her other article of clothing.

"Can you believe that just happened?" Barry interrupted her thoughts.

Jasmine let herself chuckle, "What? Getting struck by lightning or meeting Harrison Wells?"

Barry chuckled, "Both I guess, but meeting Dr. Wells was pretty cool."

Jasmine's lips perked up to reveal her teeth in an involuntary smile. She and Barry had met some of the smartest brains of their generation.

And all it took was getting hit by lightning.

She stopped the CSI in his tracks as she reached for his elbow, "I wanna go to Jitters first," She surprised herself with the admission.

But recalling Wells' words about Iris visiting her, it was like something was pulling her to the coffee shop.

Barry shot a nervous glance at her, "Are you sure?"

Jasmine nodded, a slight smile crawling across her face. She wanted to see her sister.

She wanted to see Iris again.

Barry couldn't contain the smile he was trying to hide from her, "Alright then, let's go."

She found herself lost in her thoughts again, trying to imagine what life must have been like for Iris without her sister or her best friend to lean on.

How had she survived without them?  
How was she doing?

Was she worried about them? Jasmine knows she would be if the same thing had happened to Iris.

Her questions were answered with a swift collision to the chest, Iris's arms wrapping themselves tightly around her shoulders, the gesture catching Jasmine by surprise. She slowly reciprocated the hug before the two parted, Iris moving over to engulf Barry in the same tight embrace.

"Oh my god you guys are awake" She mumbled into Barry's shoulder before breaking the hug, "Why didn't STAR labs call us?"

The question seemed to be targeted at Jasmine, who could only shrug, "I'm not STAR Lab's keeper" She deflected, cringing at the harsh tone she used with the barista.

Iris let out a small scoff before turning to Barry, who was more than happy to answer the question.

"We just woke up" Barry explained.

Iris let out a breath of relief, "Should you two even be on your feet?'

Jasmine shrugged, "It's fine Iris, We're fine"  
"I watched you die" Iris spoke, as if she was suddenly staring at two ghosts, "Jas, you were dead. I saw the scans-"

Jasmine tilted her head, smiling shyly, "Well I'm alive now"

Iris chuckled before turning to Barry, "and you, I saw your heart-"

Barry wasted no time grabbing Iris's hand and pressing it to his chest, the intimate moment throwing Jasmine off.

Her throat closed up on itself, shifting her gaze away from the two, trying to ignore the dark swirling in her stomach as it flopped back and forth.

She couldn't even focus on the conversation the two were having.

It was like the words were bouncing off her ears instead of letting her listen.

It almost felt like the problems she would have when she was little.

Voices muffled themselves.

The world seemed to shake.

When she opened her eyes, a purple haziness coated the world around her, her head feeling like it had been squished into a fishbowl as the ringing in her ears returned.

Through the haziness, her eyes found thin strings, each one connected to each other like synapses, the ringing slightly subsiding as she allowed herself to focus in on the strings connecting the coffee bar together.

"Jas…" it seemed to be calling to her.

"Jasmine"

"Hello?" Iris's voice managed to break through her slight breakdown, "Did you hear me?"

Jasmine turned toward her older sister, "Hmm? Sorry, I was-"

"Thinking," Barry finished for her, a similar look on his face, small breaths leaving his lips like he had just run a great distance.

Iris stared between the two of them before turning toward Jasmine, "Come on, I have a change of clothes in the back you can borrow."

Jasmine emerged from the backroom still wearing the STAR Labs sweatshirt (iris would have to pry it off her) but her legs were secured in a pair of jeans and she felt more herself than she had the entire day.

Through her peripheral, she caught glimpses of purple, the haze existing even when she wasn't lost in thought.

"There you go!" Iris exclaimed, grabbing her purse, "Finally, it's starting to feel somewhat normal around here."

Jasmine shot a small smile at Barry, who returned with one of his own.

The chiming of the jitters bell rang through the coffee shop, bringing the trio's attention toward the now open door, the small huddled figure freezing under their gaze.

Barry's breath hitched.

Jasmine's mouth dropped open.

"Barry?" Her voice is small, breathless, unable to believe the sight before her.

Barry moves forward, the crinkles in his smile matching the girl before him, matching eyes meeting, his mouth forming two syllables, "Lila?"

The brunette nods, throwing her arms around her taller brother's shoulders, tightening her grip, believing that if she let go for one second, he would topple to the ground and miss nine months of her life again.

Jasmine and Iris stood back by the coffee bar, the space between them feeling cavernous while they watched the closeness of the Allen siblings' interaction.

Her stomach clenched, trying to ignore the guilt spreading through her chest as she turned to look at her own sister, their relationship still feeling unchanged even after nine months of life taken from them.

"You came back" Lila whispered into Barry's shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut before pulling away from the hug, "I knew you would,"

Barry nodded, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were here-"

"Don't worry about it" Lila shrugged away through gritted teeth, "I came as soon as I heard"

Barry's bright blue eyes widened at the news, "You've been here for nine months? What about school? NYU? Grad school?"

Lila shrugged, "I dropped all that when I came back,"

"Oh, Liles"

"It's fine" She scoffed, "I graduated early, got a nice job at Mercury Labs, and I even have my own apartment" Lila bragged, a small part of her hoping to see a look of pride cross Barry's face.

She was not disappointed.

"You graduated?!" Barry exclaimed, causing Jasmine and Iris to move closer at the news, "That's-Wow, I'm so happy for you"

Lila nodded, a bright smile on her face.

Realization crossed Barry's face and Jasmine went to put her hand on his shoulder, "You graduated, and I-I missed it." He smiled sadly at the woman beside him, "We both missed it. Lila, I'm so sorry."

The younger girl shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant about the whole thing, "It doesn't matter, it was just community college," her little laugh seemed to tell Jasmine and Barry otherwise, "besides, Iris and Joe were there."

Iris smiled, moving to embrace the younger Allen in a side-hug. Jasmine noted how stiff Lila seemed in Iris' arms, a tight-lipped smile forcing its way onto her face.

"Speaking of," Jasmine cut through the tension, removing her hand from Barry's shoulder, "Where is Dad? I really wanna see him."

Iris grabbed her jacket and released Lila from her grip, "He's at the precinct, " She explained, "Come on, he'll be excited to see both of you."


	4. We're Not Alone

**So big news! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this schedule so I can post something special on Valentine's day, but keep in mind that chapters may be shorter over the next few days.**

**Please favorite and review!**

Barry was immediately engulfed in a hug as he stepped into the precinct, Joe wrapping his arms around his surrogate son and his daughter, although he could tell Joe was happier to see Jasmine finally alive and well.

"It's good to have you back," He grunted, giving Jas an extra squeeze, her small frame devoured by Joe's bigger one, "You scared the hell out of all of us," Joe addressed the two of them.

"Yeah, that was quite the nap you took babyface" An officer Barry didn't recognize called out to him, "and yet you still look twelve,"

Barry chuckled politely as he watched the interaction between Joe and Jas, the latter excitedly telling him that she got the job at STAR Labs. It made him miss Lila. He knew she had more important things to do but still.

"Detective West!" another officer called, "we got a 550 in progress at gold city bank" the officer gaze outside the window, scrunching her eyebrows, "Two dead, the storm's really picking up. I'd grab rain gear."

Joe nodded and pecked Jas on the cheek, "I gotta go, sweetie," He spoke to her.

"You're totally fine dad" Jas replied, a soft smile stretching across her face, "I'll see you when you get back."

Joe nodded and Barry stepped forward, "Do you need help?"

The detective shook his head, "No you guys take it easy," he advised, "There'll be plenty to do after you recover. Let's go partner!" he called.

Barry turned, expecting to see the burly figure of Chyre, only to be met by the sight of Eddie Thawne recently pulling out of an embrace with Jasmine.

The CSI could feel his chest constrict at the sight. How did they know each other?

"Hey Allen" Eddie turned to him, "Good to see you"

Barry nodded politely, "Thanks Eddie,"

"Hey, Iris" Eddie turned to the older daughter, a wide smile on his face and a puppy dog look in his eyes. Barry wanted to slap it right off of him. He knew that look. He'd worn it himself whenever he interacted with Iris.

"Detective," Iris responded coldly, sending Barry's spirits soaring, "You should go. My father doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Eddie nodded and followed Joe out of the precinct, leaving Barry alone with the two West sisters. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Jasmine shaking her head with a deep crease in her forehead, her hands rubbing her temples.

"Hey," He whispered, moving closer to her, "Is everything- is everything okay?"

Jasmine turned to meet his gaze, previous signs of pain hidden by a plastered smile, "Huh? Oh yeah, my headaches are just acting up."

Barry nodded, deciding not to say anything more. Jasmine never liked to talk about them anyway. His attention turned to a prisoner on the opposite side of the bullpen, his hand reaching for the gun of his arresting officer. Without knowing what he was doing, Barry raced forward, his momentum carrying him there and back in a flash, the prisoner now face down on the table, put there by Barry's own hand.

"Screw You!" the prisoner yelled.

He had done that. He had run over there and back and pushed that guy against the table and no one was the wiser.

It was almost as if the particle accelerator had...no it wasn't possible.

"You okay?" Iris' concerned voice pulled him out of his stupor and Barry nodded, trying to come up with a viable excuse, "Yeah, I uh, I just need some air."

He wasted no time exiting out of the building toward the alley behind the precinct, checking his surroundings before pulling out his arm, the limb vibrating back and forth. He could feel it in his chest, in his bloodstream. In every cell of his body. His body propelled forward, stopping just before he crashed into the wall.

Barry let out an involuntary laugh at the discovery.

He rushed forward once again, unable to control his speed, his momentum brought to a stop by the contents of a garbage truck.

When he removed the last of the bags he came face to face with a disapproving Jasmine, arms crossed and eyes wide.

"Jas, you won't believe what just happened to me." He began, a toothy grin meeting her exasperated smirk.

"I saw the whole thing Barry" Jasmine confessed. His eyes lit up as he put two and two together, realizing why Wells wanted to keep him there.

"Wells-"

"Wanted to run tests on you," Jas finished for him, "I figured. Let me guess," She continued with a sigh, "You want me to get in contact with them?"

"Please?"

When he stepped out of the trailer in the outfit Cisco had put together for him, the first thing he heard was Jasmine's bulleted laughter.

"You look ridiculous" She commented, unable to wipe the smile off her face. Barry felt himself turn red, and Cisco appeared by his side, assuring him that no one will see what he's wearing when he's running.

"Dr. Wells will be monitoring your energy output, Caitlin your vitals, and Jasmine will be monitoring your brain activity."

"It's already off the charts" She commented, placing a few electrodes on the side of his helmet.

"What do you do?" Barry asked the kid before him, curious as to what his role was in the Team.

"Me?" Cisco seemed taken aback by the question, but his insecurity was replaced with a wide smirk and a gleam in his eye, "I make the toys."

Barry tried to look impressed.

"Check it." Cisco continued, holding up a circular device with a lightning bolt imprinted in the center, "This is a two-way headset with a camera I modified, typically designed to combat battlefield impulse noise, or in your case, potential sonic booms, which would be awesome."

Barry wanted to chuckle at the impossibility of it all. Yesterday he was in a coma and now he could potentially be running faster than the speed of sound.

It was all too surreal to be true.

"Mr. Allen," Dr. Wells began, "while I am extremely eager to determine your full range of abilities, I do caution restraint."

Barry wasn't really listening as Dr. Wells gave his whole schpiel. Instead, he was focused on the open runway, on the path ahead of him and just trying to run as fast as he can. "Yeah."

When he was given the go-ahead, he bolted, letting his legs take him where they wanted to, the wind sending goosebumps up his bare skin, a smile on his face. Until it all went wrong.

Until the sound of familiar screams rang through his ears, yellow and red lightning moving back and forth as a young boy was transported out of his own house, away from his mother. The last thing he remembered before his dad was blamed for the murder.

And Barry collapsed against the pavement, his wrist bent at an unnatural angle.

He sat against the hospital bed, Jasmine's lecture going straight over his head as he rubbed his wrist back and forth.

Apparently his body was capable of more than just moving fast, his injury healing in less than three hours.

"You could've gotten yourself killed!" She exclaimed, "and not only that but your hippocampus was highly active just before you crashed." She ranted, causing Barry to smile at the scientific jargon she was using, "So don't try and hide anything from me."

"I'm not!" Barry protested, "I'm just-"

"And I don't think I'm asking for too much" Jasmine continued, "I mean, sure there could be a multitude of reasons why you crashed, but the hippocampus activity and the amygdala activity clearly state that it was something else-"

"Jas, listen to me, okay I'm gonna-"

"And I'm just worried because that's who I am and that's who I've always been and I just wanna know what made you crash-"

"I saw my mother's death!" Barry finally blurted out, causing the room to finally go silent and Jasmine's face looked down in shame. He caught a glimpse of the sympathetic yet curious gazes of the other members of STAR labs looking at him. Almost encouraging him to continue.

"When I was eleven my mother was murdered." Barry began, catching the looks of pity from Cisco and Caitlin, "It was late. A sound woke me up. I came downstairs and I saw what looked like a ball of lightning." Wells urged him to continue, "Inside the lightning, there was a man. He killed my mom. They arrested my dad, he's still sitting in Iron Heights for her murder." Shock settled over the room, and Barry finally announced his hypothesis "Everyone, the cops, the shrinks, they all told me what I saw was impossible. But what if the man who killed my mom was like me?"

Dr. Wells moved forward, a slight smile on the edge of his lips, "I can safely say Barry that you are one of a kind."

Jasmine left the lab earlier than he did. He had a slight feeling that she didn't want to be around him after talking over him and lecturing him about his brain.

Barry almost felt disappointed when she wasn't there to escort him to Jitters. He knew they'd promise to meet up there with Iris, but he still thought she'd walk with him. They'd never done things alone. That was how their friendship worked.

One of them was always there to help the other.

He didn't think that would change after the explosion. But perhaps the fact that he had powers and she didn't was too weird for her.

After all, she had been hit too and all she got were massive headaches similar to her condition as a kid.

He finally rounded the corner when he saw Jasmine in a heated discussion with Iris.

"Look, if you don't tell him I will," Jasmine said, Barry catching the last bit of conversation.

Barry jumped in, "Tell who what?"

Iris let out a sigh as Jasmine turned toward the scientist, "Iris is now dating Eddie and refuses to tell Dad about it."

Barry felt like he had been punched in the gut. He had been right. Iris had moved on without him just like Lila had. He was too late.

"And you can't either," Iris cautioned to both of them.

Jasmine scoffed and Barry had to agree with her.

"Dating a partner's daughter," Barry repeated, hating how the words sounded in his mouth, "Isn't that against department regulations?"

"Why are you two so angry?" Iris finally asked, "Shouldn't you be happy for me for finding someone?"

"We are happy" Jasmine spoke through her teeth, and Barry wanted to dispute her, "We just don't like lying."

His next words were cut off by a wailing siren and the speeding car that followed, ignoring Iris and Jasmine's pleas, he sped after it, windows crashing as he found himself beside the criminal currently fleeing the scene.

Unsure what to do, Barry jerked the wheel toward his side, a burst of air sending the car flying upward, Barry's head colliding with the ceiling as he crawled out of the totaled car.

Fog blocked his vision, the man he was chasing at the center of the storm, and Barry couldn't believe who he was seeing.

The man before him was dead.

He had to be.

Clyde Mardon couldn't be alive, could he?

The sound of crashing cars was all he heard.

"That poor man." Iris spoke up, watching as they took the stretcher away, "The way that fog came in, I have never seen anything like it."

Jasmine and Barry shared a look, both knowing exactly what the other was thinking. Barry wasn't the only one hit by the particle accelerator.

Joe caught the three of them and moved to check on his oldest, "Barry! Jasmine! Iris."

Iris immediately calmed Joe's fears with a comforting stroke to the shoulder, "I'm all right, dad."

"What the hell were you thinking having her out here?"

"What like I'm not important too?" Jasmine asked, fed up with everyone's treatment of her sister. Barry could see the annoyance in her eyes.

"That's not what I said-"

"No, but you didn't check up on me." Jasmine protested, "You know your daughter who was recently in a coma and is not keeping secrets from you"

"Jas what the hell?!" Iris interrupted, clearly upset with Jasmine's reveal of her secretive nature.

Barry quickly turned away from the sisterly quarrel to try and convince Joe to listen to him, "Joe, I need to talk to you."

"It can wait." Joe dismissed him, like he always did.

Barry didn't hesitate this time. This time it was too important, "No, now." Joe let out an exasperated look and followed Barry to the other side of the freeway, "I know who did this." Joe gestured for him to continue, "It's Clyde Mardon. I know everybody thinks he died in a plane crash after the S.T.A.R. Labs explosion, but he is alive." Barry tried to ignore the incredulous and frustrated look crossing his foster father's face, "All right, something happened to him that night. I... I think he can control the weather. The recent robberies, they all happened during freak meteorological events."

Barry continued to explain, using empirical evidence to back him up, "And when I just confronted Mardon, the street was instantly enveloped in fog." Barry watched as Joe's expression refused to change, "Of course you don't believe me. You never believe me." Barry shot venomously. No one ever did. He was tired of being seen as a lunatic.

Joe wiped his hands down his face, cocking his hip as he faced Barry, "Okay. You want to do this now? Out here? Fine. Mardon is dead." Joe chastised, "There is no controlling the weather, Barry. Just like there was no lightning storm in your house that night." Barry bit his lip in defiance, "It was your brain helping a scared little boy accept what he saw."

Barry shook his head, "My dad did not murder my mother." He couldn't have. He knew it in his bones. His dad was innocent.

"Yes, he did!" Joe yelled, "Your dad killed your mother, Barry! I am sorry, son! But I knew it, the jury knew it, and now he's paying for what he did."

Barry wanted to slap him, to punch him, to hurt him physically the way his words had hurt him.

"Dad, enough!" Jas stood up for him, and Barry felt their relationship start to mend.

"Uh-uh, Jas." Joe continued, refusing to back down, "I have done my best to take care of you since that night, and I have never asked for anything in return, not even a thank you," Barry scoffed, "but what I do ask now is that you for once in your life see things as they are."

Barry shook his head and refused to say anything else, simply striding away from the man who took him in and never believed a word he said.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he heard Jasmine ask, following Barry back to STAR Labs.

He burst into the room, anger radiating off of him as he moved to confront the Doctor in charge of everything. "I wasn't the only one affected by the Particle Accelerator Explosion, was I?"

At that bit of information, Caitlin, Cisco, and Wells all turned to look at each other, with Wells sending a glance toward Jasmine. It was small enough that any normal person wouldn't have caught it. But thankfully Barry wasn't normal anymore.

"We don't know for sure" Wells finally admitted.

Barry pressed forward, his anxiety spiking as he realized what Wells had put into the world "You said the city was safe, that there was no residual danger." He slowly came to a realization, "But that's not true, so what really happened that night?"

Wells paused, clicking a few buttons on his scooter, shame crossing his face, "Well... The Accelerator went active. We all felt like heroes, and then…" he threw a grid image of the accelerator onto one of the TVs, "It all went wrong. The dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energies into our world. Antimatter, Dark Energy, X-Elements-"

"You opened Pandora's box" Jasmine whispered aloud.

Wells nodded, "We mapped the dispersion throughout and around Central City." He explained, and Barry stood there in awe, "Though we have no way of knowing exactly what or... Who was exposed, we've been searching for other meta-humans like yourself."

"Meta-humans?" Barry asked, creasing his brow as he shared a look with Jasmine.

"That's what we're calling them." Caitlin finally spoke up and Barry knew these were the right people to share his discovery with. Especially because it was their mess to clean up.

"I saw one today." Barry admitted, "He's a bank robber, and he can control the weather."

Cisco let out a laugh, "This just keeps getting cooler."

"This is not cool. All right?" Barry cut him off, irritation slithering through his stomach and into his throat, "A man died. Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did. From the storm cloud." He shared a knowing look with Jasmine, who began to move behind the desk, "He's still out there. We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else."

"I'll check possible places he could be" Jasmine spoke up before getting block by Caitlin.

"Barry!" Wells called after him, causing him to stop, "That's a job for the police."

"I work for the police." He said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Wells tore him down again, "As a forensic assistant."

Barry inhaled sharply, always being reminded of his place, "You're responsible for this. For him." He finally yelled, confronting the man who made him like this.

"What's important is you!" Wella yelled back, inhaling deeply to try and calm himself down, "Not me. I lost everything. I lost my company. I lost my reputation. I lost my freedom. And then you broke your arm, and it healed in three hours"

Barry could've sworn he heard Jasmine scoff.

Well continued regardless, "Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world- Genetic therapies, vaccines, medicines, treasures buried deep within your cells and we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go and play hero!" Wells gave him one final blow, "You're not a hero. You are just a young man who was struck by lightning"

Barry clenched his fist, exiting the building in a fury. If he wasn't a hero, then he would go see someone who was.

Jasmine kept her opinions to herself. She didn't need her boss hating her too. It was bad enough her father and sister didn't trust her anymore.

"You doing okay?" Caitlin asked, checking in on the younger doctor. Jasmine nodded, shaking her head pain away once again.

"Yeah, it's just this...condition I had as a kid" Jasmine began to explain, "I would get these massive headaches, more prone to seizures, early-onset dementia, etc." She continued, unsure why she was telling the Doctor this, "My dad took me to hundreds of hospitals, hundreds of Doctors, said it was a rare form of cerebral atrophy." Jasmine chuckled mirthlessly, "My brain was dying and there was nothing they could do."

Caitlin sat down next to her, her hand rubbing her spine in a comforting gesture, "I'm sorry"

Jasmine shrugged, she was used to people's pity at this point. "I wasn't supposed to live past thirteen, but whatever they gave me worked," She explained, finally thinking aloud for the first time in nine months, "I think the particle accelerator started it back up again."

Caitlin's brow creased, grabbing her tablet and flipping back to the brain scans she showed the West sister when she first woke up.

"I don't think it did" Caitlin began, "Your scans indicated that you were brain dead, but somehow you survived,"

Jasmine stood up at that, "You think the accelerator sped up my healing process," she thought aloud, "like Barry,"

"Yes!" Caitlin exclaimed, "Exactly! But I think it did more than that. I think it kickstarted your brain cells and fixed them, permanently."

"So why am I getting these headaches?" Jasmine asked rhetorically. Suddenly, it was like she was hit in the face with a realization. She grabbed the tablet from Caitlin, "Unless it isn't atrophy," She scrolled through until she came to the most recent scan, catching the overactivity in the frontal lobe again. "It's hyperactivity!" She chuckled at her discovery, "The particle accelerator sped up my brain activity by a thousand,"

Caitlin seemed to finally catch up with her, "That's why you've been getting headaches, your brain is trying to adapt to its regular circumstances, but like Barry, you were affected too. The world is moving too slow for your brain to comprehend."

Jasmine couldn't hold the smile in anymore, "That's why I've been seeing that purple haze everywhere, it must be some kind of malfunction with my optic nerve."

Caitlin put the tablet down, facing her new friend, "We have to run some tests, immediately,"

"We don't have time for any more tests," Barry announced, dropping a giant box of folders onto the counter, Cisco entering the room beside him, "I've been going over unsolved cases over the past nine months and there's been a sharp increase in unexplained deaths and missing people." Barry explained, handing each of them a folder detailing the case, "Your meta-humans have been busy."

Caitlin and Cisco shared a look of shame.

"I'm not blaming you. I know you didn't mean for this to happen. I know you all lost something." Jasmine felt his gaze on her as he said that, "But I need your help to catch Mardon and anyone out there like him, but I can't do it without you."

Cisco and Caitlin shared another look and a smirk broke out on the kid's face, "If we're gonna do this," Cisco began, "I have something that might help" He led them to a back room, unveiling a bright red suit. "Something I've been playing with. Designed to replace the turnouts firefighters traditionally wear."

He explained, shoving his hands in his pockets, "I thought if STAR Labs could do something nice for the community maybe people wouldn't be so angry at Dr. Wells anymore."

"So how is it gonna help Barry?" Jasmine interrupted, unsure about this plan.

"It's made of a reinforced tri-polymer," Cisco explained, "it's heat and abrasive resistant, so it should withstand your moving at high-velocity speed." He patted the sleeves of the suit "And the aerodynamic design should help you maintain control." he caught Jasmine's skeptical gaze and added, "Plus, it has built-in sensors, so we can track your vitals, and stay in contact with you from here."

Barry smiled at the younger kid, "Thanks. Now, how do we find Mardon?" He asked, turning toward Caitlin.

"I re-tasked S.T.A.R. Labs satellites to track meteorological abnormalities over Central City." The other Doctor began, "We just got a ping. Atmospheric pressure dropped 20 millibars in a matter of seconds."

"Hold on," Jasmine began, "Are we sure this is such a good idea sending you out there on your own?"

Caitlin and Cisco didn't seem to register any of her protests, "I've tracked it to a farm just west of the city."

"Jas please," Barry begged, grasping hold of her hand, "I can't do this without you."

Biting her lip in frustration, she forced herself to look into Barry's puppy dog eyes and she knew she could never say no to him.

"Ugh fine," She gave in, "But if you get yourself killed I swear I'm not talking to you ever again,"

Barry chuckled at her joke and she felt a weight lift from her chest, leaving her steps lighter than how she felt.

It didn't take him long to get to the tornado.

"Barry, Barry, this thing is getting closer," Cisco called through the comms. "Wind speeds are 200 miles per hour, and increasing." He warned.

"Are his comms on?" Jasmine worried, leaning against the table.

Cisco shrugged, but upon catching sight of her expression he leaned toward the mic, "Barry, can you hear me?"

A pause hung in the air before a soft, "Yeah." was heard from his comm unit "Loud and clear."

"If it keeps up, this could become an F5 tornado." Caitlin thought aloud "And it's headed towards the city."

"What if I unravel it?" Barry offered, and Jasmine wanted to reach through the screen and slap him.

"How the hell are you gonna do that?" She asked.

"I'll run around it in the opposite direction," Barry continued, sounding more determined than ever, "cut off its legs."

"He'd have to clock 700 miles per hour to do that." Cisco rambled, not doing anything for Jas' nerves.

Caitlin leaned into the comms, "Your body may not be able to handle those speeds," She reminded him, "You'll die."

"I have to try."

Jasmine leaned into the mic, "Barry no!" but it was too late.

"The suit's holding up." Cisco laughed and Caitlin and Jasmine threw death glares at him.

"But he's not." She gulped down her nerves and crossed her arms, pacing behind the pair before joining them in the chairs.

"He can do it," Jasmine told herself aloud, "I know he can do it."

Barry's voice came back over the intercom, "He's too strong."

Jasmine wasted no time grabbing the mic and pulling it closer to her, "You can do this, Barry."

"Jas, I don't think I can,"

"You were right okay? The world has changed, maybe for the better, maybe for the worst, but what matters is that it's changed," She began to ramble, "You've always believed the impossible, ever since we were kids. Do you remember what I said to you that night?"

"That you would always be by my side-"

"-No matter what," Jasmine finished, ignoring the looks she was getting from her new co-workers, "and I stand by that. I believed in you then and I believe in you now, and I know that if anyone can make this world a better place it's you."

A pause hung between the couple and Jasmine took in a deep breath, "Now run Barry," Jasmine finished, "Run"

And he did.

But she couldn't look at the results.

"That was quite a speech you gave Miss West," Harrison Wells' voice pulled her away from the screen. She nodded softly, trying not to think about it. "Looks like inspirational speaking is also one of your talents,"

She scoffed, shaking her head, 'I just know Barry really well, and he needs someone he trusts to believe in him."

Wells smirked and moved over to her other side, the four co-workers gazing at the screen, each of them on the edge of their seats, until finally, the tornado dissipated.

Jasmine swallowed nervously and spoke into the mic again, "Barry?"

Another pause and then-

"It's over I'm okay"

Jasmine collapsed against the back of the roller chair, covering her face with her arms as she let out a sigh of relief. Barry was alive.

Barry was fine.

She got out of STAR labs early that night, Wells thinking she deserved a break for helping Barry unlock his speed. Jasmine wasted no time grabbing her coat and heading into the night. She was tired, her head hurt and all she wanted was to disappear into her covers.

The bus ride home took less time than she expected and she knew that she would be the only one there, especially after the tornado fiasco. Iris would be trying to get an article for her blog and Dad was probably up late filing paperwork to try and close the case.

She half-expected to see Barry, forgetting about his own apartment until she was halfway upstairs, shedding her coat and her scarf, closing the door to her room as the ringing in her ears grew louder.

She brought her hand to her temple, trying to ignore the sharp pain piercing through her brain until she could get dressed and go to bed.

And then the room went black.


	5. The Impossible Made Possible

_**Thank you so much for the love! And don't worry, our girl will be getting her chance to kick some villain ass soon!**_

_**Please favorite and review!**_

Jasmine sipped her third cup of coffee that morning, trying to keep her head spinning so she didn't collapse like she did a few nights ago. It was bad enough Barry was putting himself in danger, but her headaches now made her a liability. She couldn't afford to have those in her line of work, especially now that they were searching for more Meta-Humans.

"Hey," Iris's voice interrupted her stream of thoughts, pulling her attention to her sister, "Are you feeling okay?"

Jasmine nodded, her body shaking from the amount of caffeine she had consumed, but her headaches were gone. She wasn't seeing those strings anymore. She wasn't seeing violet anymore.

"Yeah, I just had a long night at STAR," She lied, uncomfortable with how easy it was to lie to Iris. Jasmine wanted to repair her relationship with her sister, not continue tearing them apart.

Iris sent her a small smile and filled her cup once again, "On the house," She said, moving in at an awkward pace to give her sister a hug before heading back to the bar.

"Hey, Jas," Iris turned back around, a sympathetic look on her face, "Barry's helping me with my article on Simon Stagg," She began, and Jasmine resisted the urge to scoff. Great, more gloating about leading Barry on, "Do you maybe wanna come with us?" Iris asked, and Jasmine felt her stomach drop.

Maybe she wasn't the only one trying to turn over a new leaf.

"Sure," Jasmine responded, tapping her fingers against the ceramic cup, "I'd like that-I'd like that a lot."

Iris smiled softly again and moved back behind the bar, helping out the next customer as Jasmine felt the corner of her lips perk up from the gesture. She checked her watch and cursed under her breath.

She had been abnormally late these past few days and she didn't need Wells firing her over something as small as not showing up on time. It was times like this she wished she had Barry's speed. Somehow that boy was always late for everything, despite his new powers.

Star Labs was in chaos, and Jasmine found herself searching for the familiar face who had promised her results from the test she took.

"Thank god you're here" Caitlin fell in next to her, annoyance written across her face, "Someone needs to talk some sense into Barry and Cisco"

Jasmine chuckled at her expression, "Why? What'd they do this time?"

Caitlin rolled her eyes, "Apparently they think it's a good idea to tire Barry out by having him go on missions that do not involve meta-humans"

Jasmine nodded, understanding as Caitlin pulled her into the next room. She had seen the news about the fire that morning. How a red streak ended up saving a mom and her kid from the burning building before it collapsed.

"I'll try and talk to him," Jasmine assured Caitlin, knowing that it wouldn't work. Once Barry set his mind to something, he usually followed through.

Caitlin shut her eyes in relief, "Thank you." She pulled up the tablet, "Now I was examining the results of the MRI and CAT scans we put you through, and what we found was consistent with your hypothesis," The doctor concluded.

Jasmine nodded, understanding the situation. Her brain was developing rapidly, healing and rewiring itself due to the trauma it suffered during the coma.

"It appears as though your neurons are operating at hyperspeed," Caitlin confirmed, "Particularly in the frontal and parietal lobes."

"That explains the extrasensory perception," Jasmine finished for her. Caitlin began to hook up the electrodes to the back of her head.

Jasmine cracked a smile, "You're not gonna ask if I stayed awake all night for this?" She teased.

Caitlin finished hooking up the machine and shot a teasing smile right back, "I didn't think I needed to ask the neuroscientist."

The two women shared a laugh and Jasmine laid back on the hospital bed, letting the cooling sensation of the glue relax her.

Her mind flashed back to the last time she had been hooked up to an EEG, white walls similar to the ones she was surrounded by now, the sensation of Joe's hand in hers while Barry looked on in fear.

Five years old and they didn't know whether she was going to live or die.

The hour passed in relative silence, Caitlin instructing her to open and close her eyes while the coffee she had consumed earlier slowly digested, leaving her open to vulnerability.

"All right!" Caitlin's voice washed over her, "You're all done,"

Jasmine leaned into the soothing sensation of the baby wipe removing the glue from her cold scalp and she shook her curls free, jumping off the hospital bed to take a closer look at her results.

"You ready to see what's wrong with you?" Caitlin asked, before backpedaling immediately, "Not that this means that something's wrong, it's just, you know the medical world-"

"Caitlin" Jasmine cut her off, a forgiving smile on her face, "I understood what you meant."

The brunette let out a sigh and the two women faced the scan, looking at the combination of capital and lowercase letters, their eyes growing wide before meeting each other.

"We were right," Jasmine admitted aloud, tasting the awe in her voice, "My brain is spiking."

Caitlin's gaze was locked onto Jasmine's hands, unable to look away, "Uh, Jas?"

The nickname sounded weird coming from anyone else but her own family, but she followed the Doctor's gaze to her fingers, where the same hazy violet seemed to trace her fingers in a glow, and suddenly Jas realized that she wasn't alone in this anymore.

"You can see this?" She asked, disbelief rife in her tone. Caitlin nodded, cerulean hues growing wide in curious terror. "What-what do I do? How do I stop this?"

Her chest began to rise and fall, rise and fall, the haze covering her sight like a smokescreen, until she could see the strings keeping Caitlin together, the strings keeping the lab together and the sound of glass shattering broke her free from her trance.

"Did I just-"

"I think you did."

Caitlin grasped her hands, the purple hue dying down as the Doctor began to try and calm her down, "Hey, Jas, look at me."

She did.

"You're going to be alright" Caitlin reassured, "Take a deep breath with me, in-" they inhaled, "-and out" they exhaled.

The haze dissipated, leaving Jasmine's vision clear and her hands empty.

"I think we figured out what happened to you," Caitlin said with a relieved smile, "You mentioned being able to see strings, like they were holding certain objects together."

All Jasmine could do was nod.

Caitlin released her grip on her hands, "I think you were seeing atoms"

Jasmine wanted to scoff, "The building blocks of everything?" She asked, cocking her brow skeptically, "You think I'm able to see that tiny?"

Caitlin shrugged, "It would explain your parietal and occipital activity. But more than that, I think you have some control over it."

Jasmine couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was impossible.

_But so is Barry,_ a little voice in the back of her head whispered._ Who's to say you didn't suffer the same consequences?_

But seeing atoms? Controlling the energy and molecules that made up matter? That felt a little too out there for her.

"I'll see if I can have Cisco make something to help keep it in check before you get back," Caitlin pulled her out of her reverie.

Jasmine creased her forehead, "Get back? From what?"

"The Simon Stagg conference,"

Jasmine wanted to slap herself. She checked her watch. Shit, it was thirty minutes and she was way too far away to get there on time.

"Dammit," She muttered under her breath, "Iris is gonna kill me."

Caitlin stopped the girl in her tracks, "You need to relax, okay? You can't get too stressed or you will spiral like you just did."

Jasmine nodded and took a deep breath, feeling her shoulders drop under the weight that had just been placed there. "I can do that."

Caitlin smiled, "Good, now go, you're gonna be late!"

Jasmine threw her jacket on and ran out of the building.

She was bored already. She understood that this was mandatory for Iris to pass her journalism class, but Jasmine really did not want to be here. Especially when she and Caitlin could be working on a solution for her problem.

Cellular regeneration was cool, but finding out that she could possibly control any matter in the universe was way more interesting.

Plus, she didn't truly believe that Stagg was the one who came up with the advancements.

The only saving grace was Barry's presence, who thankfully, did not seem to want to question what she and Caitlin had been doing.

Instead, he seemed to be in a similar state she was, shaking his head back and forth and stuttering out words.

Jasmine shrugged and chalked it up to his nerves that always came up around Iris.

"Mr. Stagg!" Iris called after the scientist, "I was wondering if I could get a quote for my article"

Stagg dismissed her with a wave and Jas and Barry stood their, equal shock on their faces as Iris shrugged it off.

"I'll just make something up" She pretended to be okay with the development, but Jas could tell she wasn't.

"What a jerk" Jasmine responded, trying to support her older sister. Like she said, she was trying to turn over a new leaf.

Iris chuckled at the response, "Yeah no kidding,"

Her next response was cut off by the sound of gunshots, the two sisters ducking to avoid any stray bullets. The room delved into chaos and Jasmine stole a look around her. It wasn't until the police showed up that she realized Barry was gone.

"Jas! Iris!" a female voice called from the crowd. The two women turned around to catch sight of Lila standing there in some of her best attire, a fearful expression written in her gaze.

"Lila?" Jasmine asked, breathless from the events, "What are you doing here?"

Lila waved off the question with a quick excuse, "Mercury sent me to ask about his regeneration therapy but that doesn't matter," Her eyes flitted between the two women, "Where's Barry?"

They found him passed out next to a dumpster in the alley outside the building.

"Barry!" Jas called, Lila leaning next to her as they tried to wake him up. "Barry!"

Lila slapped her brother across the face, causing him to stir from his mini-coma.

"Wha-?" Barry shook his head as he squinted at the two women above him, "Lila? What are you doing here?"

She refused to answer, choosing instead to look at Jasmine, who knew exactly what to do. "We need to get him to STAR Labs," She instructed, "Lila, stay here."

"No way," She protested, "If my brother is going to be running around at the speed of sound saving people, I deserve to make sure he doesn't die in the process."

Jasmine glared at Barry, "You told her?"

The speedster shrugged and Jasmine sighed, helping her best friend up.

"You lied to us." was the first sentence out of Caitlin's mouth, "How could you not tell us you're experiencing dizzy spells? We're your doctors. God knows what's going on inside your body." She began to ramble and Jasmine almost felt bad for the doctor, "Your cells are in a constant state of flux. You could be experiencing cardiopulmonary failure or a transient ischemic attack. Mini stroke. Probably not." Caitlin let out a grunt of frustration as Barry looked down in shame, "You of all people should know that in science, we share. We do not keep secrets."

Jasmine had to struggle not to remind Caitlin of their own hypocrisy until Cisco finally spoke up.

"What's the sister doing here?"

Lila sighed and stepped forward, "The sister has a degree in chemistry and a steady job at Mercury Labs thanks you very much," she bragged and Jasmine smirked inwardly, "And I'm here to make sure my idiot brother doesn't die on the job."

Caitlin glared at Barry again, "You told her too?"

"She deserved to know!" Was all Barry said as Caitlin left the room, Jasmine following her friend.

"Caitlin wait!" Jasmine called after her, causing the doctor to turn around.

"Here," Caitlin responded coldly, handing her a small device that could be hooked around her ear, "Cisco made this for you, it's called a vibrational tuner, it'll help you focus your energy,"

Jasmine grabbed Caitlin's bicep to stop her in her tracks, "I don't care about that," She confessed, "I wanna make sure you're okay."

Caitlin's expression softened at the confession and finally admitted what was wrong with her, "It's just-I've been in this situation before," She confessed, "with Ronnie and I don't want-I can't go through that again."

Jasmine pulled the girl in for a hug, resting her head on Caitlin's shoulder as she tightened her embrace, letting her know that this time she was not alone.

"Hey!" Lila's voice pulled them out of the gesture, "We're gonna be testing Barry again, and they need both of you down there."

Jasmine nodded and the two women shared a smile before heading down to where Cisco had set up a treadmill for Barry to use.

Jasmine couldn't see anything wrong. Neither could Caitlin. Brain scans were normal, so were vitals, so what was causing Barry to collapse?

"Caitlin." Dr. Wells began, "Look at the glucose levels."

Caitlin came to the same realization Jasmine did, "Oh, my God. Of course." the doctor began, "Right? It was so obvious. Glucose levels."

"Barry!" Jasmine called through the glass, "We think we know why you keep-" She paused, peering over the edge to catch sight of Barry asleep on the ground, "passing out"

Lila and Jasmine spend the next few moments trying to wake Barry up without slapping him.

Silence hung between the two women, an unspoken tension strung between the two, begging to be cut.

"He's really proud of you y'know," Jasmine began, trying to continue her resolution. Lila didn't say anything. "He thinks and talks about you almost every day,"

Lila scoffed, "If it weren't for him I wouldn't be here,"

Jasmine could sense the bitterness in her voice, the underlying resentment at both of them entering a coma and forcing Lila to leave her cushy college in New York to come back and take care of her brother.

Jasmine frankly couldn't blame her, She would do the same thing for Iris in a heartbeat, but she also knows that she would react the same way Lila was reacting.

Lila swallowed her nerves and posited a question neither of them had an answer to, "Do you think he'll be okay?"

Jasmine stayed silent.

They caught the last bit of Joe's conversation with Wells when the three of them entered the main room in STAR Labs.

"If you wanted what was best for Barry, you'd try to talk him out of this lunacy instead of encouraging him going out there risking his life." Jasmine heard her dad say, and suddenly she knew why Joe was so against Barry saving people in the first place.

Wells, however, had something else to say, "You saw a man control the weather. What are the police gonna do against someone like that?" He pointed out, causing the team to silently agree, "Since the accelerator explosion we suspect there may be more like him."

Joe stared at the Doctor incredulously, "And you're gonna do what?" He questioned, unable to believe what he was hearing, "Catch them? Are you insane?" He glanced behind him, meeting the gazes of his daughter and surrogate children, "You think because you can run real fast that you're invincible? You're not! You're just kids." Joe paused before continuing, "My kids"

Lila scoffed, "You didn't seem so interested in being my Dad unless I ended up in the precinct," she shot at him, "Why the paternal instinct now?"

"We're not your kids, Joe." Barry stood up, supporting his sister, "And you're not our father. Our father's sitting in Iron Heights. Wrongfully convicted." Barry continued and Jasmine knew she had to step in soon or things would get out of hand, "You were wrong about him. And you're wrong about this."

"Barry, listen-" She began.

He ignored her, "Now I may not be able to help him, but if I can save someone from a burning building or stop some armed thieves, I'm gonna do it. And you can't stop me. So don't try."

Joe scoffed at Barry's overconfidence and met Jasmine's gaze, eyes shining and visibly hurt by Lila and Barry's words.

"You think you're so smart." His voice threatened to break, "All of you. But you don't know what you don't know. And I hope that you're clever enough to figure it out before somebody gets killed." He pushed past the trio and stopped at the door, pointing his last remark at Jasmine, "I don't want you working here anymore."

"Dad" Jasmine began, calling after him, "Dad wait!" Her feet pounded the metal floor, going after him.

"What the hell are you thinking?" He chastised her, stopping in the middle of the hallway, "You could get yourself killed!"

Jasmine stumbled back, shock blasting her in the chest, "I stay here, working behind the scenes," Her voice began to creep up to louder levels, "You are the one who goes after these guys, You are the one who could get yourself killed!"

Joe shook his head, "Don't turn this on me,"

"You're so worried about me and Iris you don't stop to think!" Jasmine exclaimed, her voice breaking, "I worry for you every day! What if he doesn't come home? What if he ends up shot or worse?" She bit her lip, trying to keep the pressure against her eyelids from breaking, "You are so focused on keeping us safe, you don't even consider what it would do to us if you never came back."

"Jas-"

She shook her head, "You want to protect us, I get it, but I'm doing this to protect _you_."

She spun on her heel, ignoring the dizziness plaguing her head, or the stabbing pain that clouded her vision every time she took a step, black dots dancing in front of her before her face hit the cold metal and her vision went black.

She didn't know what time it was when she woke up, she just knew that something was wrong.

"Thank god you're awake," Caitlin's voice pulled her attention toward the front of the room, engulfing the small girl in a hug before sitting on the edge of the hospital bed.

Jasmine shook her head, reaching to brush a stray curl behind her ear, only to feel the cold metal of a device locked onto the skin underneath her hairline, just behind the ear.

"What happened to me?"

Caitlin hesitated before continuing, "You were out for twelve hours"

Whiplash smacked Jasmine across the face. Twelve hours? Was Barry okay? Was her dad? What about Lila and Iris? Or the man who could clone himself?  
"Relax," Caitlin took a deep breath, urging her to follow suit, "We found an anomaly in the emotional center of your brain. Apparently your emotions are what trigger your abilities,"

Jasmine nodded, recalling the last few times she's encountered the impossible circumstances the accelerator bestowed upon her.

When she was stressed, worried, or tired.

"The vibrational tuner should help as a mood stabilizer as well," Caitlin continued, filling the silence, "It should help keep those negative emotions balanced, so you don't suffer from fainting spells. Cisco's also working on something to help with the energy that you seem to emit as well." Caitlin paused, letting her words sink in before continuing again, "Thank god it was only me and Cisco that saw it, I don't really know how we would explain-"

Jasmine cut her off with an embrace, digging her head into Caitlin's shoulder, relishing in the comfort it gave her, although she will admit she wished Barry was who she was hugging instead. "Thank you, Caitlin."

The girl nodded and the two continued to talk, trading stories of school and relationships back and forth while a comfortable air settled around them.

Jasmine felt a weight lift off her shoulders as realization struck.

She wasn't in this alone.

For the first time in a long time, she had made a friend.


	6. Emergence

_**Yay! Another chapter! Please leave a favorite and review! They make my heart so happy!**_

"Good news!" Caitlin called as her heels clicked against the metal floor, bringing her closer to the neuroscientist in the middle of the room, "Cisco finally managed to come up with these"

Jasmine creased her brow as she caught sight of the black gloves Caitlin waved back and forth.

"Okay?" She questioned, "What does that have to do with my ability to break things with my mind?" The words didn't feel real coming out of her mouth.

She was a woman of science.

And while she had a scientific explanation, that didn't make these events any easier to accept.

Caitlin's response was cut off by Cisco finally entering the room, "They're made of a synthetic material designed to contain ultraviolet light-" he began, pausing as his eyes lit up, "Ultraviolet, that's a sick name and I'm trademarking it for you,"

Jasmine laughed and pulled the gloves over her hands, the tips of her fingers poking out of the holes at the top, "I'm not doing this to become a hero Cisco," She reminded him, her hands scratching the tuner behind her ear, "I'm not like Barry."

Cisco nodded continuing his explanation, "The gloves work in tandem with the vibrational tuner," He explained, pulling up the schematics for Jasmine to look at, She tilted her head as he continued to talk, "Basically, when you focus in on something the tuner will send a signal to the gloves, alerting them to release that weird energy Caitlin was talking about and allowing you to control the atomic vibrations."

Jasmine nodded, finally beginning to understand the extent of her powers. She was basically a witch, which while not scientifically sound, was pretty cool to her.

Nine-year-old Jasmine obsessed with Harry Potter would be screaming right now.

"So let's test them out," She said aloud. Caitlin nodded and placed a mug on the desk in front of her.

"In order to test your control, we have to test your focus," Caitlin continued, "Concentrate on the atoms in the mug, forcing it to do whatever you want,"

Jasmine nodded pressing a button the device behind her ear and holding out her hand toward the glove. She squinted, letting her brain work it's magic as purple glossed over her sight, the strings moving back and forth slowly. She urged the strings to move upward, and they seemed to follow her whims, the mug emanating a purple glow as it floated upward, laughter streaming from the trio of scientists.

She really was a witch. Even if she was a scientific one.

Cisco's voice came from the right of her, "That's so cool,"

Jasmine nodded, continuing to focus on making the strings move upward, this time drawing them closer to her, bringing the cup her direction.

"And now for the actual test," Caitlin spoke up, always the scientist, "So in order to test your focus, I'm gonna ask you a few questions."

Jasmine nodded, moving around the room, taking the mug with her, her greenish hues never leaving the object in front of her.

"What is the square root of forty-nine?" Caitlin asked.

Jasmine shrugged, "Easy, seven."

"The process of taking in glucose and creating oxygen is called?"

"Photosynthesis"

Jasmine felt her confidence rise in her stomach. This was easy. Even with Cisco's constant gasps of awe and Caitlin's high pitched tone, she still managed to keep focus and keep the mug afloat.

Maybe she could be a hero like Barry after all.

"How do you feel about Iris and Barry's date at the movies?"

Jasmine whipped around, "What?"

The mug crashed to the ground, the sound ringing through the lab and Jasmine brought her hands to her mouth, Cisco's eyes growing wide at the damage.

"That was one of the only mugs we had," He whispered like a wounded puppy. Jasmine could only mouth sorry to him.

She turned toward Caitlin, "That was an unfair question" she began, pulling the gloves off and resetting the tuner.

Caitlin shrugged, "You're going to be working with Barry and if things work out with Iris, you're gonna be working with her too."  
Jasmine scoffed, "Well it's a good thing Iris is with Eddie then, so I don't have to worry about that."

She ignored the skeptical look that passed between Cisco and Caitlin and shoved her feelings back down into her chest. She didn't need anyone else knowing about her crush on the speedster.

"Jas," Caitlin began, "We know how you feel about Barry."

She scoffed at the scientist's insinuation. Denial was better than too many people knowing. It was better than the truth. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Cisco smirked at her response, "Please, you practically drool all over him when he's in the room."

She shook her head, "Barry's my best friend that's all," She began, sticking her tongue out at Cisco, "and I do not drool."

Caitlin moved closer, "We're not saying you do," She shot a glare at Cisco, "We just think it's kind of obvious that Barry is a source of worry and stress for you."

Jasmine crossed her arms, frowning at the accusation. Caitlin was right. Barry did have an effect on her that no one else did. She's known that since she was ten.

Perhaps it would be nice to share her troubles with someone else.

Footsteps cut off her next response and her dad entered the room, Barry behind him.

"Speak of the devil," Cisco muttered under his breath, causing Jasmine to smack him in the shoulder.

"Whoa," The speedster began, "What happened here?"

Jasmine followed his gaze to the mug, the three scientists fidgeting before Jasmine finally spoke up.

"I accidentally knocked over Cisco's mug," She lied, hating how easy the words dropped from her mouth, "But that's not important," She deflected, moving closer to the speedster, "What's up?"

Joe and Barry laid the entire situation out in front of them, from the crime scene to their hypothesis about him being a meta-human.

"Fascinating," Caitlin was the first one to speak, "a meta-human that can manipulate poison gas."

"Is it just poisonous gas, or can he control all aerated substances?" Jasmine continued, "And how is he able to formulate the connection?" She rambled, a thousand ideas entering her brain at once, "Is it physiological or psychological?" She gasped, a smile on her face, "What if it's a neurological interface of some kind?"

Barry cut her off, "This individual can create a mental nexus using gaseous substances."

Cisco was the next person to talk, "You mean connect with gases on a molecular level?"

Barry nodded and Jasmine felt herself deflate. "Oh, well that's not as exciting."

Cisco and Caitlin looked at each other. "So he's just like…" Cisco trailed off, as if forgetting who he was talking too.

The sudden abrupt change of atmosphere caught Barry off guard and Jasmine noticed his creased eyebrows trying to put the situation together, "Like who?" He asked.

Cisco straightened up, a nervous smile crossing his face, "Oh, no one. that we know anyway. There is absolutely no one in this room that can do what the man is doing." his laughter almost gave them away, "This is all completely new stuff."

Jasmine squeezed her eyes shut and hung her head, bringing her hand to her brow to massage it. They really needed to teach Cisco how to keep secrets.

Barry nodded and turned back to Joe, who looked just as confused.

"They get really excited about this stuff." was all Barry said in an attempt to excuse their recent behavior. Joe chuckled, "Well it looks as if Jasmine has finally found her people," He crossed his arms, his serious face back on again, "but, the only thing I'm excited about is putting criminals behind bars."

"Except Iron Heights isn't exactly equipped to handle meta-humans." Jasmine pointed out, "I love you dad, but you remember what happened after the Earthquake in Starling City,"

Joe seemed to consider her words, letting out a giant sigh at the statement.

"Imagine if that happened and the prison had Meta-Humans?" She wanted to shudder at that thought. She remembered some of the criminals who had broken out after the disaster. If they had somehow made it to Central City during the explosion? Jasmine shuddered. It was bad enough they had former inmates running around trying to exact vengeance. They didn't need serial killers.

"Then I guess it's fortunate the ones you've encountered so far are no longer with us." Wells' voice came from the front of the room, catching the rest of the team off guard. Joe let out a reluctant sigh. He'd been doing that a lot lately.

"Well, unless we're planning on executing every supercriminal we stop," He began, turning toward Caitlin, Cisco, and Jasmine, "you geniuses are gonna have to come up with someplace else to hold them."

"A meta-human prison." Cisco smirked, "Sweet."

Wells put a condition in place, "Until we figure a way to remove their powers."

Cisco tapped his finger against his tablet and bit his lip, like he had an idea but didn't want to share it, "There is one place here that might hold them."

"You can't be serious." Caitlin protested, and Jasmine felt jealous of their mind-melding abilities.

"I mean, we haven't been down there since the It's cordoned off." Cisco began to defend his logic and Barry and Jasmine shared a look, like they were the only ones out of the loop.

Wells spoke up next, "Cisco is right" He fidgeted with his hands, "It could be modified to act as a makeshift prison."

Jasmine crossed her arms, catching the apprehensive look on Caitlin's face, "What could?" She asked, mindful of her friend's feelings.

Wells stared at the two of them, regret passing over his face, "The particle accelerator."

Jasmine was trying too hard to keep herself from screaming at the man in the wheelchair. What the hell was he thinking? He knew how awful that idea was right?

Jasmine and Barry had almost died because of that thing.

Ronnie had.

It was a source of trauma for Caitlin and Cisco.

The anger slowly dissipated with the cooling vibrations the tuner sent through her skull, monitoring her brain activity and stabilizing her when her cortisol got too high. She let herself inhale slowly, exhaling the grey skies before opening her eyes and coming face to face with Barry.

"Hey," he asked, bright blue softening as he tried to comfort her, "Is everything okay?"

She nodded, actually believing it for once, "Yeah, I'm just-I can't believe Wells thinks using the accelerator as a prison is a good idea."

Barry nodded, "I understand why," he defended, his gaze following Caitlin's angry tapping on her tablet, "But I feel bad for Caitlin."

Jasmine nodded, and swiftly changed the subject, not wanting to talk about the past anymore, "So," She teased, ignoring the clawing at her stomach, "How was your date with Iris?"

Barry sighed, "It wasn't a date, she made that clear," He spoke bitterly, leaning against the counter, his shoulder brushing hers.

Jasmine scrunched her face in distaste, ignoring the clawing that had turned to a fizzing at the sound of the failed date, "I'm sorry, that sucks."

Barry nodded, "Yeah, well at least I know where I stand." he turned his face to meet hers, "What about you? Any romantic prospects lately?"

Jasmine couldn't hold in her laughter, she allowed herself time to breathe and gain some clarity back in order to answer Barry's question, "No" She gulped down, trying to keep the wide smile off her face, "No, no, no. I'm not looking for anyone right now," She admitted, "Besides, I already kind of have my eye on someone," She turned to look at him, her eyes falling to his lips before shooting up to meet his gaze again.

Barry smirked at her answer, "Oh really? Who's the lucky guy?"

Jasmine scratched her ear again, "No one you know," She was quick to admit, hoping her feelings weren't as obvious as Cisco pointed out, "Just someone."

"Oh, come on, I gotta know" Barry teased, "You never talk about your love life, this is like discovering a new part of you!"

Jasmine chuckled, the fizzing in her stomach growing stronger and she could feel the heat moving across her cheeks, "It doesn't matter, it probably won't work out anyway."

Barry tilted his head, lifting his brow skeptically, "I highly doubt that," He began, "You're smart, funny, and nobody can make lasagna as well as you can,"

If she wasn't blushing before, she was now. "So that's all I'm good for huh?" Jasmine joked, trying to make him blush in return. It worked.

"Nonononono, that wasn't what I meant," Barry began to backpedal, "I mean you're also like really pretty but I didn't want that to be the sole focus and I knew you put a lot of care into your skills-"

"Barry" Jasmien cut him off, her lips twitching upward, "I was joking."

The speedster let out a sigh of relief and the two sat in comfortable silence. Jasmine examined Barry's face. The crease in his forehead wasn't as prominent, his shoulders sloped down instead of remaining by his jaw, which wasn't as tense as she remembered.

Being a superhero was good for him. Maybe it would be good for her too.

"What?" He asked, catching her stare. She shook her head, trying to come up with a viable excuse.

"Nothing," She smiled, letting her teeth peek through, "Just looking at you."

Barry chuckled at her response, his cheeks turning red.

"Caitlin." Cisco's voice pulled Barry out of his previous conversation with Jasmine, "Did you hear me?" He continued, "We're going down to the accelerator ring."

Barry knew he had to do something. Caitlin was in too fragile a state to visit the accelerator, especially after what happened, "Actually, Dr. Wells," He interrupted, making up an excuse for her, "I could use Caitlin's help identifying the poison gas."

Jasmine spoke up next to him, "I can go help Cisco" She offered, sending a knowing glance Barry's way. He felt his chest rise in gratitude at his best friend coming to his rescue.

Wells looked between the two of them and narrowed his eyes, pausing before responding, "Okay."

Barry turned to Caitlin, who seemed to stand there in shock, "If that's okay with you?" She nodded and he wanted to pump his fist in victory, "Let's go."

Once they were out of STAR Labs, Caitlin finally spoke.

"Thank you," She began, "I don't think I could've faced that"

Barry smiled, "Hey, what are friends for?"

The brunette chuckled at that, "Well I guess I'm finally seeing why Jasmine likes you"

Barry pushed his brows together at the statement. Surely they didn't just trust him based on Jas's word alone right? There had to be another reason they kept both of them around.

Caitlin's eyes widened and she quickly backpedaled, "as a friend obviously."

Barry forced a soft laugh from the back of his throat. Ignoring the writhing in his stomach at the thought of being just friends with Jasmine.

"Obviously," He responded back, with equal awkwardness between the two. His mind flashed back to their previous conversation and how something seemed to claw at his stomach whenever Jas had mentioned her romantic prospects.

His words were true, she was a catch and anyone would be lucky to have her. He just wanted to make sure they deserved her. Barry couldn't live with himself if either of the West Sisters ended up with someone who didn't deserve them.

It's why he really wasn't that angry with Iris dating Eddie. The detective was a good guy, and he was good for Iris, even if Barry wanted to be with her instead.

Suddenly the memory of Jasmine's close embrace with Eddie when they first woke up flashed across his brain. Barry tried to imagine if he would be as cool with Jasmine and Eddie if Iris had been the one in the coma.

His stomach growled and clawed at his insides, writhing once more at the thought of the blonde detective with Jas, and Barry knew that Eddie, while good for Iris, was not the right person for Jas. He just knew it.

It was like a sixth sense.

When Jasmine finally met the right person he would be okay with it. Like he was with Iris and Eddie.

"You okay there?" Caitlin pulled him out of his spiral and Barry nodded.

"Come on," He began, "The CCPD's this way."

"Do you think other Metas existed before the accelerator?" Cisco asked as they outfitted the former device to be a prison ready to hold the Mist and other dangerous criminals. Jasmine rose from her spot on the floor and faced the younger kid.

"Probably," She recalled hearing about impossible cases from her father as a kid, but the only one she remembered was a kid from Metropolis who ended up being a dead-end anyway. Jasmine shrugged, "I think it's a high impossibility."

Cisco continued to stare at the accelerator, unable to tear his gaze from the burnt-out device.

"The accelerator brought you back from Brain Death," He murmured under his breath and Jasmine paused, knowing where his mind was going next, "What if Ronnie survived it too?"

Her face fell and she moved over to the kid, placing her arm around his shoulders. "You did the best you could Cisco," She assured him, "and the important thing is you did as he asked."

"But it didn't work" He turned toward her, "We tried so hard and all I ended up doing was killing Caitlin's fiance"

The silence sat between them as they stared at the accelerator, both contemplating what the horrid device meant to them. For Jasmine, it was the product of her worst fears.

But it was also a brand new start for her.

It brought her closer to Barry. It gave her new friends. A new Job.

She wouldn't have gotten that any other way.

But she couldn't erase what it had done to her. The fear that rattled her every time thunder boomed outside her window and lightning struck the ground. The fear that she would close her eyes and never wake up again.

That she really would be brain dead this time around.

She couldn't just get rid of that. The same way Cisco and Caitlin couldn't get rid of their hands in the making and presentation of the device.

The sound of footsteps brought the two co-workers out of their reverie, and they found themselves face to face with Caitlin.

"Cait" Cisco spoke first, "What's going on?"

She spoke through labored breaths, as if she had run a long distance or carried a heavy piece of furniture up some stairs.

"Barry's in trouble."

"Barry!" Jasmine's voice called to him, asking for him to stay alive.

Caitlin came in next. "Barry, can you hear me?" He couldn't respond, all he could do was writhe in pain, "His vitals are weak, but he's alive, Dr. Wells."

Wells dismissed their concerns, "I'm sure he's fine."

Barry thoroughly disagreed, finally able to form words, "I-can't-breathe."

Through his blurred vision, he caught Jasmine turning toward the other scientists, "He needs oxygen."

Caitlin nodded, following her instruction, "Get the crash cart!"

The words were like cotton in his ears, black dots dancing in front of his vision as he hacked his guts out onto the floor of the lab.

"Barry!" Jasmine yelled once again, "Barry, please don't die on me"

The words brought life to his lips again and he wheezed out instructions, his chest aching with every breath he took, the searing sensation spreading through his whole body.

"Cut me open." Barry whispered, the command coming out a whined plea, "The poison's still in me."

Jasmine shook her head, "No, absolutely not,"

"Jas-" Barry coughed, his next response cut off by Dr. Wells.

"He brought us a sample."

He could see the war raging behind her colorful gaze, biting her lip as she began to weigh the consequences. But Barry knew what she would choose. He always knew.

"Do it" She announced.

"Caitlin, we need to do a pulmonary biopsy," Wells told the brunette, "extract an active portion of that gas."

"I can't give you any anesthetic." The doctor told Barry, a worried look written across her face, "Your metabolism will burn right through it."

Barry knew there was no other way, "I heal quick, remember? Do it." Jasmine held out her hand, which Barry squeezed as Caitlin entered the syringe into his body, causing him to scream out in pain. The only comfort he had was the hand of the woman next to him, who he knew would stick by him through thick and thin.

Cisco was the first one to speak, "The Streak lives."

Barry and Jasmine stared at each other before bursting into shared chuckles. A moment passed between them and Barry could've sworn he felt some of his lightning pass between them as she pulled her hand away.

It didn't take long before it was smacking against his chest, shots of pain shooting through his regenerative body.

"Ow!" he shouted, "What was that for?"

"For being an idiot!" She exclaimed as if it was obvious, "You'd be dead if your lung cells didn't regenerate so quickly."

Barry moved back and forth, pressing his hands against his now burning chest, unable to soothe the pain. He remembered the last time he felt like this, "My chest feels like that one time I had a cigarette." He recalled, trying to lighten the mood.

That did nothing to soothe Jasmine's anger.

"You were an idiot then too." She responded, a small smile on her face.

Barry chuckled, "Yeah, teen me lived for danger."

Jasmine rolled her eyes, "This isn't funny," She urged, green eyes wide in concern, "You could've-"

"I didn't." Barry soothed her, grabbing hold of her hands, bringing his other hand to her neck to brush the curls away from her collarbone, the light touch sending a barrage of shivers down his back.

Jasmine huffed as she left the room, curls flying in his face as Barry chuckled at her concern. It felt nice. His stomach fizzed. It was nice to have someone who cared.

"Now that we have a sample, we'll get to work analyzing it, figure out the makeup of the poison, maybe get a clue as to his human identity." Caitlin explained, awe on her face, "Or at least a way to stop him from turning into a mist."

Cisco's eyes lit up, "The Mist." He repeated, "Okay, that's his name, end of discussion."

Barry pushed himself up, knowing he had to do something to warn Joe, "I have to get to the station."

Caitlin stopped him, "You should be resting."

Barry dismissed her concerns. He healed fast, Joe didn't. "I have to talk to Joe."

He was halfway out the door when Caitlin pulled out the trump card, "What about Jas? What are we supposed to tell her?" Caitlin moved forward, sensing his hesitation, "We don't keep secrets, Barry."

He froze in the doorway, eyes drifting to the West daughter who had been by his side through everything. His heart tugged when he thought of Nimbus getting his hands on her and causing her to suffocate. He couldn't allow that to happen. He wouldn't allow that to happen. He turned to face his friend, "Tell her after I'm sure she and Joe are going to be safe."

Jasmine was furious. More than furious. How could he not tell her? How could he keep the fact that her father was in danger a secret from her?

She had never kept anything from him. Nothing.

We all know that's not true. The tiny voice in her head whispered. She shook her head, silently telling the voice to shut up, pacing behind the trio sitting at the desk.

"He used the antidote on Joe" Caitlin announced.

That wasn't the plan. Now he was defenseless.

Jasmine knew she had to do something. She had powers similar to Nimbus, she could help Barry out.

Without wasting any time, she grabbed her gloves and slid them on.

"Whoa," Caitlin stood up from her chair, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving my best friend, " Jasmine told her, "Now tell me how to stop Nimbus."

Caitlin and Cisco hesitated, and Barry was waiting for his next move, but it was Wells who answered.

"Gas is the least stable form of matter," He responded, "His particles will need to reform, you need to keep him in that state for Barry to land a shot."

Jasmine nodded, grabbing her jacket and moving out of the room.

"Jas wait!" Caitlin called, stopping the girl in her tracks, "Here," she handed her a comm unit and a set of keys "Good luck, and remember to focus."

The neuroscientist nodded and traveled down to the parking garage, where Caitlin's car was ready for her to use.

She knew the way to Iron Heights, she'd been there enough times with her dad. She was coming and she was going to save Barry.

Even though every light was green and traffic was light, she definitely was speeding and could feel the disappointment radiate from her father if he ever found out. Thankfully, luck seemed to be on her side, getting there just in time to see Barry get attacked by the Mist, rolling out of the way to avoid it.

"HEY!" She yelled, drawing his particles back into human form.

_"Remember to focus"_ Caitlin's voice whispered in her ear.

Nimbus knew who she was. It was hard to find someone who didn't in this town. "You attacked my dad," She announced, "You coming for me next?"

"Jas no!" Barry yelled from his grounded state.

Nimbus moved to attack her and she pressed the tuner, letting his vibrations wash over her. The energy from her hands stabilizing the purple haze she had gotten used to. His atoms grew further and further apart as he transformed his body, she focused on keeping them closer together.

Caitlin's voice rang in her head, asking questions. "_What's the square root of 49?"_

"Seven,"

Nimbus screamed as his body refused to comply with his will.

_"The powerhouse of the cell?"_

"Mitochondria" She grunted out, making sure her brain was trained on the man in front of her.

She braced herself for the last question, knowing it would be about Barry or Iris.

_"His date, Jas"_ Caitlin continued, "_You never answered how you felt about it."_

"I hate it," She confessed, anger burning through her chest, "I hate that he went to the movies with someone who strings him along. I hate that Iris is the first choice with everything. Most of all, I hate that he didn't ask me."

Nimbus stayed solid and pride began to rise from the pit of her stomach, unable to believe that she had managed to push through.

Barry sped forward, his punch landing squarely in Nimbus' jaw, sending the meta-human flying and when they reached his position in the grass, Nimbus was unconscious.

"Nice job," She told him and Barry nodded at her.

"You too" He responded.

Jasmine let out a sigh of relief.

"Dad," Jasmine breathed out before enveloping him in a giant hug, "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too sweetheart," Joe responded, patting her back, "If it wasn't for Barry I don't think I'd be here anymore."

Jasmine forced herself to smile, "Then I guess that's another favor we owe Barry Allen," She smirked at the speedster behind her, catching the gleam in his eye.

"Daddy." Iris' voice came through the door, interrupting their moment together as her sister and boyfriend piled through the door.

Joe was quick to put on a strong face, "Oh, Baby, I'm fine." He assured Iris, "Don't worry."

Barry and Jasmine shared a quick look, knowing what was bound to happen next and quickly left the hospital room, giving Eddie, Iris and Joe time together.

"We'll let you guys talk," Barry announced, Jasmine following him out into the hallway.

She exhaled, "That doesn't look pretty," She commented and Barry nodded.

Something was off though. He was fidgeting more than normal and he kept looking over his shoulders. Back at Joe.

"Barry?" Jasmine asked, her brow folding down in confusion, "What it is? What's wrong?"

"It's just-" Barry cut himself off, biting his lip, "I almost lost Joe today and I know that without your help I couldn't have taken Nimbus down..."

Jasmine flapped her mouth open and closed, nodding her head as she realized where this conversation was going.

"But you don't want me out there." She finished for him, refusing to meet his gaze.

Barry struggled to find the right words to explain his thought process, "It's not that I don't think you're capable it's just-" Jasmine heard him pause, the silence deafening, "when you were out there all I could think about was your safety. Making sure you made it home." His next words were armored and ready, "I can't be worrying about you when I'm out there. I can't-I can't lose you too."

Jasmine nodded, still refusing to meet his eyes. She knew if she did the pressure behind her own would burst. "Yeah, I get it." She responded, grabbing her jacket from the chair, "I-um, I'm gonna go."

"Jas, please-"

She ignored his pleas, "I have to- I have to return Caitlin's car."

Silence hung over them as she grabbed the keys, not even noticing that Barry was holding her hands until she pulled them out of his grasp, leaving him a lonely figure in the hallway.


	7. Rogue One

_**Please enjoy this very very belated Valentine's gift! And please leave a review! I worked really hard on this chapter and would love to hear your guys' thoughts!**_

Barry hated not talking to Jasmine. He knew had made a mistake telling her to stay out of helping him out, but today was his day off, and he knew that he could handle whatever small thing came up later.

He knew he had made the right decision for his safety. For Jasmine's safety. He needed her alive.

That didn't mean it didn't sting whenever she ignored him. He sped back and forth between the chess game, ping pong with Cisco, and operation with Caitlin. It was easy. Almost too easy. Jasmine hadn't shown up that morning, claiming she needed a sick day. But Barry knew she was avoiding him.

Her absence made STAR Labs feel emptier than it already was. He was already missing her chiding tone when he went to put on the suit to tackle a robbery.

He couldn't even celebrate when he caught a glimpse of one of the robber's faces, because all he could think about was how much he missed Jasmine being by his side, scolding him for almost getting himself killed.

And he felt a tinge of regret creeping into his gut.

Barry sped to the crime scene not long afterward, just overhearing the conversation between Eddie and Singh before chiming in.

"Guard says there were three of them," Eddie explained, Singh nodding at his assessment.

Barry moved to speak up when a familiar voice cut him off, causing his blood to grow cold.

"Actually, there were four." Jasmine West walked forward, pulling plastic gloves over her hands, handing the bag over to Captain Singh, "A driver, two more to cover the guards," She began to point out the evidence, "and somebody used liquid nitrogen to crack open this door, so four robbers."

Singh nodded her direction, something akin to a smile on his face, "Thank you, Miss West."

Jasmine nodded, turning back to the other members of the force, Joe approaching her and pulling her into his side, "Thanks for helping out with this case baby"

"Anytime dad," She responded, catching Barry's shocked glance before turning back to her dad, swallowing roughly, "I, uh, I have to head back to the station, check out these samples, I'll catch you later okay?"

Joe pressed a kiss to her forehead, a soft 'okay' leaving his lips. The older cop turned toward Barry, as if completely oblivious to the tension between the speedster and his kid. "Did you see anything that could help us catch these guys?" Joe asked, focusing on the case.

Barry pulled himself from his stupor, forcing his gaze away from Jasmine's retreating figure to scratch the back of his head, "Yeah, one of them lost his mask." He announced, "I saw his face."

Joe nodded, handing him a folder of Central City's criminals, "look through these mug shots of Central City's most wanted, and see if you can find our guy."

It was almost too easy for Barry, recognizing the distinct jaw of the man almost immediately.

"That's him."

Joe lifted his eyebrows in surprise, "Leonard Snart."

Barry resisted the urge to laugh at his name. He couldn't really talk though, "Leonard?" Barry repeated, "That's almost as bad as Bartholomew." He took another look at the file, "Snart ain't sexy, either."

On their way into the station, Joe finally gave the rundown of the man they were searching for.

"Snart's father was a cop," He began, shaking his head, like he was recalling a bad memory, "was a bad cop." Joe sighed again, "took his anger out on his kids until he went to prison."

Barry let out a mirthless chuckle, "Snart's dad's in prison too? We should start a club." He joked.

Joe continued his assessment, "He shows up, like, every six months." he handed the case file to Barry, "He cases a job for weeks before he makes his move. Then, he does the job, gets away."

"That's before The Streak was around," Barry smirked proudly, puffing out his chest as he said it. Joe raised an eyebrow, getting ready to shake his head, "Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?"

He sounded like Jas did when he came up with a plan that put him in danger. Not wanting to ruin this relationship, Barry quickly backtracked, "I referred to The Streak, which I'm pretty sure I can top." He threw a look over his shoulder, making sure no one was listening, "I've been thinking of a new name. What do you think about The Fla-"

"Coffee break." Iris's bright tone cut through his response, and he couldn't help being annoyed. Especially when she wasn't talking to him either after his negative response to her wanting to write about the Streak.

She plastered a smile on her face as she held out the tray of Jitters coffee, "Thought I would bring Central City's finest java over to Central City's finest."

Barry admired her efforts, she really was trying to get on Joe's good side. Not unlike him and Jas.

"Thanks." He nodded, showing he appreciated the gesture.

Joe simply said, "I'm off caffeine." and disappeared into the bullpen.

Iris's arms flopped to her side, as if she had finally exhausted all of her options on trying to get on her dad's good side. She sighed and Barry braced himself for the complaining he would be forced to listen to.

"My dad's been mad at me ever since I told him about me and Eddie," Iris whined, and Barry forced himself not to snap back at her for coming to him with this issue.

Barry protested almost immediately, "No, you mean he's mad at you because you didn't tell him."

Iris immediately prepped her defense, "Uh, first, that sounds like you're taking his side," Barry sighed, sometimes he thinks she should've been a lawyer, "And second," She continued, "Do you know how he does this whole, "I'm not talking to you, but I have a whole bag full of judgmental looks I'm gonna try out on you later?"

Barry scratched the back of his head, recalling the past few weeks operating as the Flash, "Yeah, I've been on the receiving end of those a few times." They weren't fun, and now it wasn't just Joe sending them his way.

"Speaking of communications," Iris pulled him out of his thoughts, "or lack thereof, after all of these journalism classes, I got an idea." She was excited, a bright smile on her face. Barry found himself looking for something that wasn't there. Almost as if he wanted her to be someone else.

"I started a blog." She clapped her hands together, "I figured Jas already told you, you know, with how much time you spend together," Her eyebrows lifted, as if alluding to something other than them being friends and Barry felt his heart speed up. Had she found out? Did Jas tell her after the night in the hospital?

Barry shrugged his shoulders, stuffing his hands in his pockets as they continued to walk up the stairs to his lab, "Yeah, Jas and I aren't really on speaking terms,"

Iris stopped in her tracks, her touch sending the familiar shivers down his back, "Oh my god, are you guys okay?"

Barry nodded, "Yeah, we just got into a fight about working together," He lied, cringing internally at his words, "She wanted more hours and I told her she was already busy enough."  
A chuckle left Iris' lips, soon it turned into full-blown laughter, "Oh Barry Allen," She sighed, patting his shoulders before leaving him confused on the staircase.

He shook his head free of the confusing thoughts rattling around in his brain and followed after her, wanting to talk about something else, "All right, what's this blog about?" He asked, humoring her, "Your brownie obsession? 'Cause, you know, you probably shouldn't broadcast that." It felt nice to joke around with someone again, to see the annoyance on Iris's face as he teased her.

She rolled her eyes, "No, something important." She spoke as if she was the face of a press conference instead of a grad student trying to earn her degree, "Something that Central City needs to know about," She paused for dramatic effect, "The Streak."

Barry rolled his eyes. He really hated lying to her, and he didn't want to do it anymore. He had already ruined his relationship with Jas by trying to keep her safe, he didn't need to do that with Iris too. He couldn't lose the last person in his family that still saw him as a friend.

Iris continued her pitch, "He's out there, Barry." She protested, "Rumor has it, he stopped an armed car robbery earlier."

Barry knew what was coming next.

"I was hoping that I could take a look at the file, and- What?" Iris cut herself off, seeing his sheepish look.

Barry just shrugged, "I'm not at liberty to discuss an ongoing police investigation with you."

The girl beside him scoffed, taking another sip of her coffee, "Since when, Mr. Blabbermouth?"

Trying not to seem too suspicious, he tried to come up with a viable excuse for why Iris should discontinue her search, "Take it from someone who's been investigating the impossible since they were 11." He reminded her, recalling the number of insane people he had investigated due to his interest in his dad's case, "Blogging about this is only gonna bring the crazies to your front door."

Iris held her chin up, "My blog is anonymous." She spoke with confidence, as if she was untouchable. Barry knew better than anyone that she wasn't.

"All right, well, anonymous or not, it's not safe." He finally settled on, trying the logical approach, "You never know what kind of weirdos are out there trolling on the internet."

"I can vouch for that." Barry almost did a double-take when he caught the familiar head of blonde hair standing in the middle of his lab, Jasmine standing beside her. "The internet is full of weirdos and nerd rage Lots and lots of nerd rage."

Iris managed to breathe out a chuckle before looking between Barry and Felicity, catching his disbelieving gaze.

"Hi." Felicity held out her hand, "Felicity Smoak."

All Barry could do is watch as the two most important women in his life interacted with the girlfriend of the Arrow.

"Iris West."

"My sister," Jasmine spoke up from Barry's table, a rare smile on her face, addressing the confused look Felicity sent her. "Older, not the same age."

"That was my next question," Felicity laughed, the ease of their banter throwing Barry off.

Jasmine's chuckle sounded like sweet music to his ears.

Iris looked between her friend and the new girl before them, as if expecting an explanation. Jasmine beat him to it.

"Felicity was The girl that Barry met in Starling City" Jasmine announced, "When I found out she was in town, I thought it would be nice to get to know her."

Barry hated that he could he sweat starting to form on his neck. How did Jasmine figure out about Felicity's visit?

"Oh that's right" Iris began, "You worked on one of his unexplainable cases."

Felicity nodded, pride beaming across her face, sending Barry's heart pounding. "Yes! Which long story short? Definitely explainable." She wandered the room, eyeing the hole in the ceiling and Barry prepared himself for the next question. "So the lightning came through here?"

He nodded, unsure of what else to say with Iris in the room.

Felicity turned toward Jasmine, "and you got hit too right?"

"Yes," Jasmine began, leaving her spot at Barry's table to join the blonde, "Unfortunately I was at STAR Labs, so I got the brunt of it."

Felicity nodded, a smirk forming on her face as she stared between the two. Barry smiled and moved to try and talk to Jasmine.

"Hey Jas," Barry whispered, trying not to draw attention to the two of them, "Can I talk to you?"

She refused to even look at him, "I thought you didn't want me intruding on your 'heroics'"

He bit his lip in frustration, regret expanding through his stomach at her words. "I just wanted to make sure you're safe."

Jasmine flipped her head his way, the citrus smell washing over him as her curls smacked him in the face, "I'm working with my Dad, of course, I'm safe."

Without wasting any more time, she grabbed the bags of evidence and strode out of the room, Barry unable to tear his gaze from her retreating figure.

"Hey," Felicity pulled him back to reality, a surge of disappointment rushing through Barry as he turned to face the new scientist, but the smile on her face was infectious, the dimple next to her cheek catching him off guard. "How about we head outside?" she asked, and Barry followed her lead.

They were halfway through the park when Felicity brought up his love life.

"Iris seems very nice." was all she said.

Barry nodded his head, wanting to go back to silence rather than discuss his overly complicated relationship with the West sisters.

"And really pretty." Felicity continued, "Like, super pretty," another beat of silence passed between them, "Congratulations."

Barry was quick to correct her, "Well, Iris isn't my girlfriend." He announced, "She's just a friend who actually has a boyfriend."

Felicity nodded, clearly embarrassed by her assumption, "So I guess that means Jasmine is the lucky woman," She settled on next, "which-Wow, you did great with her. Pretty and Smart?" She pushed his shoulder, and Barry hated that he had to correct her again.

Especially because she wasn't exactly wrong. Anyone would be lucky to be dating Jasmine. He'd said it a million times, he just never expected to be so disappointed when Felicity brought it up and he had to say it wasn't true.

"Yeah, she and I aren't a thing either,"

He watched Felicity's shoulders deflate at the news, her cheeks becoming red. "Geez, Barry, two gorgeous women and you can't even land the single one?" She teased, a wide smile on her face.

He rolled his eyes, not wanting to discuss his love life any further.

Iris was the first person to greet them after he had shown her STAR Labs, "Hey, you two." She said with a mischievous look on her face. Barry knew that look. He had been on the receiving end of that look too many times.

"Hey." Felicity fired back, the same wide smile on her mouth, while Barry worked to correct Iris's mistake.

"We're not a two." He protested, hoping she would catch the hint.

Felicity understood immediately, "Oh, no." She began, with an awkwardness that rivaled Jasmine's, "We are a one and one."

Iris nodded, the same funny look never leaving her face as she cocked an eyebrow, "Has Barry been showing you some of the sights in Central City?" She finally asked, trying to make small talk.

"Yes," Felicity answered instantly, turning to face the taller man next to her, "I have seen some pretty amazing things." She told the barista, alluding to the speedster's powers.

Iris's eyebrows almost disappeared into her hair at the sound of that, "Really?" Barry's stomach dropped as he realized what Iris was about to do next, "Well, if you've got some time, maybe we can show you some of Central City's nightlife." Her tone was innocent, but her intentions were not.

Felicity was quick to protest, "Oh, no, I get plenty of nightlife in Starling City."

Iris kept pushing, determined to get the girl on her side, "Oh, this is something that I don't think that you're gonna want to miss." She reached behind her, pulling out a flier detailing the time and place of one of Barry's least favorite events, "Trivia night at Jitters." Unfortunately for him, Iris wasn't the kind of person who gave up. "Eddie's not really excited about it, I admit," He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the mention of the detective, "But it could be our night, guys." Her eyes were hiding something, and he was reminded of the time she and Jas had hidden a dead cricket in Joe's tomato soup. She was wearing the same look back then as she was now.

Barry grabbed the flyer, not hiding the skepticism in his voice, "Our night to win $75 worth of cappuccinos."

Felicity tore the paper out of his hands, not noticing the tension standing between Iris and Barry, "Uh, yum."

It wasn't until the room had gone silent that Felicity understood why Barry didn't want to do trivia.

"You know what," She began, "I'm gonna go call work, check in, make sure everything's okay. Be back in a second."

Barry let out a relieved sigh, tension dissipating from his shoulders as he turned to interrogate Iris and figure out what she was up to.

"Why are you doing this?" He whined.

Iris played dumb, a skill she was exceptionally gifted at, "Doing what?"

"The trivia night with you and Eddie," He spat out, unable to hold back the malice in his tone at the thought of the detective, "forcing this whole double date thing."

"Because that girl is great," Iris began, "and she happens to come from your very rare species of adorable nerds" Barry shook his head, barely catching her next comment, "besides, now that you and Jas are on the fritz, you need someone like her."

Barry scoffed, "We are not on the fritz," he denied, ignoring the tightening in his chest at the implications of her comment, "In fact, our friendship is stronger than ever,"

Iris nodded, her face screwing itself into an expression that made it clear that she did not believe a word Barry said.

"Well at least bring Felicity, tonight." Iris asked, and Barry knew he could never refuse her, "We'll have fun."

He scoffed, knowing the night would be anything but.

His hypothesis ended up being correct halfway through the night when Eddie missed his third question.

"I'm sorry." He apologized again, a sheepish look on his face, "I thought I knew it, and I got excited, and I-I just hit it."

Iris set about comforting him, "No, I mean, maybe they'll get it wrong too." She tried to assure him. Barry could tell she didn't believe a word she was saying.

"Oh, yeah." Felicity chimed in, a smirk on her face all too reminiscent of another intelligent woman he knew, "I am sure that the team named Pride and Padawans doesn't know the name of Han Solo's ship." She chuckled, and suddenly Barry felt like things were getting back to normal again.

"Oh, honey," Iris ran her fingers through Eddie's hair, "you are so cute when you're confused." Eddie leaned in to give her a soft peck when his phone rang, a tone alerting him to another police sighting.

"Someone spotted Snart." he announced, grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair, "I gotta go."

While Iris was distracted, Felicity turned to Barry, who was halfway out the door.

"I'll cover for you." She promised and Barry felt his anxiety ramp up into his throat.

"All right, what are you gonna say?"

"I usually tell people Oliver's at a nightclub with a girl or nursing a hangover." Felicity rambled, as if those excuses would work for him.

Barry reminded her that he was not Oliver Queen, "None of which will work for me."

"Bad stomach ache" Felicity made a face, and Barry shook his head, "Really bad diarrhea." She offered next.

"Yeah, I'm not comfortable with that excuse." Barry shook his head frantically again, exasperated with the ideas she was coming up with.

Felicity pushed him toward the street, "Just go!" She urged, watching him speed off.

He pushed himself forward, knowing that Joe or Jas could be at that crime scene, and that Snart would soon get away. He couldn't let that happen.

He reached the theatre just in time to step in front of Joe, taking an icy blast meant for the cop. The ice dug into his skin, burning through his suit and causing him to gasp in pain. It was awful. It felt like his body was on fire. But he couldn't let that stop him. He dodged the next blast, speeding up the stairs to save the couples that had been trapped inside the theatre. He forced himself to take a break. The ice was catching up to him, reaching his cells, threatening to kill him. He caught a glimpse of the ice blast and sped forward, hoping, praying he could reach the man in time.

He didn't.

"NO!"

Barry stared at the frozen corpse, breathing heavy as Joe came up behind him. It was like he was eleven again, watching the coroner place his mom into a body bag, nothing he could do. Except this time he could've saved him. Just like he could've saved his mom.

But he was careless. He was weak. He was alone.

Barry gingerly touched the frozen skin, trying to ignore the fact that there was almost a hole in his side.

He couldn't feel anything, "It's still numb." He told Caitlin.

The Doctor moved around to show his charts, "It's presenting itself like third-degree frostbite."

"I thought he had hyper healing." Felicity brought up, and Barry had to agree with her. Why wasn't his healing kicking in?

Caitlin sighed, "It's been slowed." she announced, "If your cells weren't regenerating at the rate they are, your blood vessels would have frozen solid and the nerve damage would have been permanent."

Barry gulped at that sentence.

"You're lucky to be alive," Caitlin told him again. Barry nodded, and he knew that he had to put his pride aside for one goddamn second if he wanted answers. Grabbing his jacket, he pulled out his phone, hovering over Jasmine's name as he debriefed the team.

"Snart wasn't another meta-human, He has some kind of gun." Barry shook his head and stuffed his phone in his pocket. He didn't need to worry her, "It froze things, slowed me down" His brain went to the incident at the theatre, "enough that I wasn't in time to save someone."

It was his fault. He should've gotten there in time, but he didn't. His stomach growled, almost as if it agreed with his statement.

"According to his record," Felicity brought him back to the present, "Snart didn't even bother to finish high school, so how did he build a handheld high tech snow machine?"

That was gonna be Barry's next question. Jasmine would've asked the same one if she were here. His mind wandered to the phone in his pocket. Maybe the investigation has some answers he can use.

"STAR Labs built the cold gun," Wells spoke up, and Barry's chest constricted.

Cisco cut off his next response, " and Caitlin had nothing to do with this." He announced ominously, "I built the gun."

A sharp pain stabbed his chest, sending his stomach twisting.

"You did?" Barry's disbelief was all he felt, "Why?"

Cisco swallowed, his adam's apple moving up and down as he pressed forward, "Because speed and cold are opposites." He began, "Temperature is measured by how quickly the atoms of something are oscillating. The faster they are, the hotter it is, and when then are cold, they're slower on the atomic level."

Barry knew this. Cisco knew this. And he still decided to make a weapon to stop him. What he couldn't figure out is why. He had done nothing but help them. He had given up his friends, his family for them.

"When there's no movement at all, it's called-"

"Absolute zero." Barry finished for him, trying to keep his anger contained.

Cisco nodded, regret passing over his face, "I designed a compact cryo engine to achieve absolute zero." He repeated, as if finally understanding the weight of his mistakes, "I built it to stop you."

Barry refused to say anything. All he could focus on was what he had given up. He had pushed Jasmine away for them. He had kept everything a secret for them. And then they went and did this.

"I didn't know who you were then, Barry." Cisco tried to justify his actions, "I mean, what if you turned out to be some psycho, like Mardon or Nimbus?"

"But I didn't!" Barry exploded at the younger scientist, unable to hear his justifications for keeping this from him, "Did I?"

Caitlin was the next to justify the inexcusable action, "We built the entire structure you're standing in to do good, and it blew up." She reminded him, "In the wake of that, you can understand why Cisco would want to be prepared for the worst."

Barry grit his teeth, chest growing tight as an awful realization settled over him, "I can understand that," He lied, "but what I can't understand is why you didn't tell me what you did." He chose them over Jasmine. He chose people who didn't trust him over the one person who had believed in him since he was eleven. And somehow that made him angrier than Cisco's betrayal. Because he had no one to blame but himself. "I mean, after all we've been through, I thought you trusted me." He continued to tear into the kid, "I thought we were friends."

Cisco winced, "We are, Barry-".

Barry shook his head, "I mean, if you would have just told me, I could have been prepared." He exclaimed, "But instead, someone died tonight." It was a low blow, but somehow he felt as if it was the only thing that could get through to him.

Cisco closed his eyes, clearly affected by the news, "And I have to live with that."

He scoffed, crossing his arms, "No, Cisco." Barry paused, letting it all sink in. He didn't get to carry the guilt alone, not when Barry couldn't stop thinking about that moment in the theatre. Not when the cold gun slowed him down enough so he couldn't save that man. "We all do."

He left the rest of the team to their own devices, needing to be alone for a few minutes.

The steps of STAR Labs were cold, digging into his skin and leaving them numb, exactly like how the cold gun had left him earlier that day.

The sun was setting behind him, tinting the sky a bright orange as he gazed at his phone, finger hovering over Jas's name, trying to decide whether he should call her to ask for forgiveness.

Whether he deserved it.

"Hey," A familiar voice pulled him out of his stupor, bringing his gaze upward to meet her own and Barry's lips perked up into a wide smile, unable to believe she was here. That she was actually in front of him. "Is anyone…?" Jasmine pointed to the step beside him.

"Oh no," He responded, still stunned by her appearance, "Uh, go ahead.

She smiled softly, sitting down next to him, their shoulders almost touching. Her arms wrapped themselves around her hunched legs, her gaze still refusing to meet his. Barry couldn't tear his eyes away.

From the soft crinkles around her eyes, to the newly formed crease on her forehead, her dark curls pushed behind her ears so they were out of her way. He wanted to sigh of relief.

"I uh, heard about your encounter with Snart," She brought up, trying to fill the silence "I suppose you and the Team are already working on a way to stop him."

Barry shook his head, leaning forward to stare into the darkening street, "Actually, I kind of...blew up at them earlier."

The chuckle that left her mouth was unexpected, but Barry took his time drinking in the musical sound, joining her as he explained what Cisco had done. The betrayal still stung, a sharp pain stabbing his chest, but somehow with Jasmine that pain dulled. It felt right being beside her.

He missed this.

"I'm sorry," He apologized, taking his chances, "I never should've told you to stay away."

Jas shrugged, "I'm over it." She pushed his shoulder with her own, "I was actually on my way to see what I could do to help, but since both Eddie and my Dad are determined to keep me off the case, I thought I'd turn in early."

Barry's stomach turned at the mention of the blonde detective. What was Jasmine doing with him? Especially since the only interaction the two seemed to have was a simple hug when she woke up. But that was weeks ago.

"I've been meaning to ask," Barry interjected, trying to keep her here a little longer, "How did you get that job at the CCPD? I mean no offense, but your specialty isn't exactly forensic sciences."

Jasmine stood up, crossing her arms as a smirk replaced the smile on her face, "Oooh, what's the matter, Allen?" She asked, a teasing tone to her voice, "Afraid I'm gonna steal your job?"

Barry shook his head, unable to contain the smile forming on his face. This felt normal. This felt like home. He had missed that. "I'm just curious is all."

She sighed, pulling her cardigan closer around her. "Dr. Wells recommended me,"

Barry perked up at that statement, curious as to why he hadn't mentioned it before. Although in light of recent events, he wasn't surprised.

Jas continued her story, "He said I was the best woman for the job," She was proud. He caught on to that much. She paused for a moment, staring at the building in front of them. "You know it's fascinating," Jas began, tilting her head, "I went to quite a few crime scenes, and the sense of community felt among those officers...it's amazing for lack of a better word," She chuckled, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, "For all their faults, they have each other's back, no matter what. It's quite admirable actually."

Barry knew she was trying to comfort him. Trying to convince him to rely on the others in the building. To go back and trust them again. But he couldn't. Not when they had been the reason he wasn't able to save anyone.

He turned back to face Jasmine and found she was gone, just empty cold air where she had been standing.

Cisco walked into the main room of Star Labs, holding the tablet in his hand, "I figured out a way to track Captain Cold."

Barry rolled his eyes, everything he used to like about the kid turning sour in his mouth, "You gotta stop naming these guys"

"Barry," Felicity chastised, sounding too much like Jasmine for his taste, "listen to him."

He crossed his arms, huffing out a sigh before turning to his former friend, "How?"

Cisco nodded, gratitude in his eyes, "The cold gun is powered by an engine control unit," He began, explaining the device to an attentive room, "a microcomputer that regulates air-to-fuel ratios so the subcooled fluid in the chambers don't overflow and-"

"Explode." Caitlin finished for him. Barry half expected Jas to be there to add some unique idea to the plan, and when she wasn't, the tinge of regret hit him again.

"Right." Cisco finished, "This ECU was receiving updates wirelessly from my tablet." He gestured to the device in his hand, "If I boost the signal using Central City's network and send a false update, we'll get a ping back, and then We can locate Snart."

Barry wasn't sure he believed him anymore. The one person he knew he could trust wasn't here anymore, and now he was getting ready to face a dangerous criminal armed with a gun that Cisco made. A gun designed to stop him.

For what felt like the millionth time that day, he missed her.

"How long will it take?" Barry asked, keeping his contributions short.

Cisco looked unsure, "First I have to hack into the City's network, so…" He was doing the math in his head, "I don't know, 30 minutes, maybe?"

Felicity perked up, a smile on her face, "I can do it in less than one." She bragged, taking her place at the desk, "When it comes to hacking, I'm the fastest woman alive."

Barry found himself counting the seconds, fifteen, twenty, thirty-

"All right, I'm in." Felicity finally announced.

"Are you kidding?" Cisco spoke up again, pressing buttons on his tablet while Barry kept his eyes trained on the blonde, "All right, I'm sending the updates."

"Network is triangulating the location," Felicity spoke up again. A moment passed, then another, "We got him," Felicity confirmed, "He's heading west on Nelson toward the train station."

Wells interjected next, "If he's leaving, it appears Mr. Snart may have gotten what he came for."

Cisco held his hand up, expecting a high five, "When we put our minds to it, dude, nothing can stop us."

Barry didn't give it to him. He clicked his comm off, not wanting to listen to him anymore.

"Oh, you turned your earpiece off" Cisco sounded surprised, like he hadn't just betrayed the trust of one of his friends, "How are we gonna talk to each other?"

Barry refused to look at Cisco, suddenly understanding why Jasmine had refused to speak to him, "I don't feel like talking right now." He spoke coldly, speeding off.

Barry sped toward the high-speed train, catching the criminal in his act, "There's nowhere to run." He announced, making sure Snart knew he meant business, "I didn't see you before."

Snart simply charged the cold gun, turning around with a smirk on his face, letting Barry know he didn't take him seriously, "Your mom know you're out past your bedtime?"

Barry moved forward, ignoring the jab at his parents, "If you wanted to get away you should've taken something faster than a train." He had to focus. He had to make sure Snart didn't threaten anyone else.

"That's if I wanted to get away." Snart began, taunting the speedster, "I've seen your weakness at the armored car, then at the theater." Snart bragged, "Which is why I brought a little insurance."

Barry's breath caught in the back of his throat. There's no way he could've gotten to her. She was with Joe. She was safe.

But the muffled shrieks said otherwise. They made Barry's stomach twist, Snart's hand gripping her bicep and pulling her from the train seat before wrapping that same arm around her neck, the cold gun pointing directly at her head, "See, while you're busy saving your girlfriend and everyone else, I'll be saving myself." He taunted. Barry's chest heaved and he barely caught the slightest shake of Jasmine's head, her hands fruitlessly working against the restraints Snart had put her in.

"If she even tries to use her voodoo on me," Captain Cold began, a sneer twisting itself on his face, "Well, let's just say she'll end up in a similar state to Walt Disney's head."

Jas's eyes grew wide at the implication. Clearly, she hadn't been told the circumstances that had just been laid out before them.

Barry bit the inside of his cheek, gritting his teeth at the threat. Anger turned in his stomach, rising into his throat until his voice dropped low, trying to match Snart's own threat with one of his own, "Good luck with that."

Snart pointed the gun down, the frost reaching the mechanisms in the train car, sending the vehicle spiraling out of control.

"Your choice kid," He made one last threat, "The people or your girlfriend." refusing to relinquish his grip on Jasmine, he leaped out of the train car, and Barry could hear a muffled cry as two bodies hit the gravel. He let out a sigh of relief. She was going to be safe. He just needed to save everyone as fast as possible. He moved from train car to train car, speeding the passengers to safety, ignoring the voice in his head that told him to check up on Jasmine. To ignore the rest of the passengers and go after her. Thankfully, he was able to save everyone before the train crashed, but his body was worn thin, barely able to push himself off the ground.

Ice filled his veins and Barry's scream rose into the air, guttural and unable to hold itself back. He was stuck to the ground, frozen.

"Pretty fast, kid," The criminal taunted again, ignoring the muffled cries of the woman beside him, "but not fast enough."

Barry gripped his side, the cold was burning through his suit and he finally forced himself to meet Jasmine's fearful gaze, blue clashing against green. He caught the slightest movement in her jaw, and her shoulders began to tense up. He wanted to shake his head, to tell her that he wasn't worth it. To remind her of the reason they weren't speaking in the first place.

But he couldn't. There was no other option.

Jasmine shut her eyes, and Barry waited.

He counted the seconds. Ten. Fifteen.

Snart fell to the ground, releasing Jas from his grip as his free hand went to grip the side of his head, letting out a guttural scream.

Jasmine rushed over to Barry, wiggling out of her restraints and pulling the gag down. "You okay?" Her voice sounded hoarse. She didn't sound like herself. Barry nodded.

"Are you?"

She never got the chance to respond, because the sound of the cold gun charging up cut her off, both of them face to face with the barrel.

"Drop it." Another familiar voice rang through the station, Barry and Jasmine turning to face the only people both of them wanted to see. Their Team had come to their rescue after all.

Cisco moved forward, a device larger than Snart's in his hand, "This is a prototype cold gun," Barry's friend threatened, "Four times the size, four times the power."

Snart tilted his head Barry's direction, the smirk twisting into a smile, "I was wondering who you were talking to." He brought the gun closer to the two of them, Jasmine placing herself in between Barry and the gun, earning her a wink from Snart.

"How touching," The criminal continued to taunt.

"Hey," Cisco brought the attention back to him, "unless you want a taste of your own medicine," The kid threatened, "I'd back the hell up."

Snart finally turned toward the team that had shown up to protect Barry and Jasmine, his smile returning, "Your hands are shaking," Snart pointed out, "You've never killed anyone."

Cisco pushed forward, the device looking like it was charging up, "There's a first time for everything, Captain Cold." His tone was cold, unflinching, "I will shoot you."

A moment passed. And then another. Barry couldn't tear his eyes from the gun pointed at Jasmine's face, her unflinching gaze never leaving Captain Cold's. Barry gulped.

And Leonard Snart dropped the cold gun, disappearing with a diamond still hidden in his coat.

Cisco let out a sigh of relief and Barry was enveloped in the arms he had missed, Jasmine's embrace growing tighter before using Cisco's hammer to break him out of the ice, and wrapping his arm around her shoulder, carrying him back to the Team, where he expressed his thanks to the people he had slowly learned to trust again.

Cisco shrugged, "Couldn't shoot him if I wanted to." He confessed, "This is actually the STAR Labs vacuum cleaner with a lot of L. ."

All Barry could do was laugh.

The trip back to STAR was well needed. No super speed, no unresolved tension, just Jasmine's shoulder to lean on, and his friends by his side. But he knew things were starting to be too good to be true. Because as soon as they got back, Felicity had begun her goodbyes.

"You have a great team here, Barry." Felicity placed her hand on his arm and he expected to get the same chills he always did when he was around her. They never came. "Speaking of teams," Felicity coughed, grabbing her jacket, "I should probably get back to mine."

Barry nodded, and he couldn't help but wonder why Oliver hadn't asked her out yet. They had been practically dating when he visited Starling City, his own jealousy causing him to expose Barry's true reason for visiting the billionaire.

Dr. Wells' voice pulled him out of his reverie, "It was nice meeting you, Ms. Smoak." a soft smirk passed over the scientist's face, "Please extend a hello to The Arrow for us."

"I will."

The sound of boots against the metal floor drew his attention away from the blonde, Jasmine's small figure making an appearance as she faced the other scientist she had grown close to in a small amount of time.

"Wait," She spoke through labored breaths, "I wanted to give you this," She held out a small circular device, a bright yellow lightning bolt directly in the middle of it. "Cisco helped me come up with it, think of it as a Flash Signal" Jasmine explained. "Just press that and we'll be on our way."

Felicity grabbed the device, rubbing her thumb over it, "Thank you Jas," the two women hugged and a lightbulb finally went off in Barry's head. "Although I think the name might already be trademarked."

The two shared a chuckle and Barry finally saw just how different the two women were. Felicity laughed with a wide smile on her face, teeth bared as the laughter rang through the room. Jasmine's was always closed, her chuckle hidden behind closed lips, but her eyes crinkled at the edges, showing just how much fun she was having.

He never realized it before. He had always been on the receiving end of her wide smile. He doesn't even recall seeing it around Iris or Joe.

"Bye Felicity," Jasmine spoke up, patting the girl on the shoulder. Felicity nodded at the rest of the Team before exiting the lab, Barry's eyes still trained on her.

"Remarkable young woman." Dr. Wells pointed out, "She's special."

"Yeah, she is." It wasn't until he was halfway to his destination that he realized he wasn't talking about Felicity.

Barry jumped in his seat as a yelp left Felicity's mouth, a small chuckle escaping past his lips.

She squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment, "Did I just yelp?"

Barry smirked, trying not to make fun of her expression, "Yeah"

Felicity's hands curled themselves into fists, "I yelped." She shook her head, cheeks growing red.

Barry leaned in closer to her, "I'm sorry" somehow this action didn't have the effect he wanted it to, "I didn't mean to scare you." He couldn't bring himself to look anywhere but her eyes, enshrouded by the dark glasses she always wore. He didn't notice anything else about her.

"Don't tell me you're here to save me." She scoffed, a slight upturn of her lips telling him she was joking, "taking the train is still one of the safest ways to travel."

Barry considered her words before teasing her slightly, "Airplanes."

It didn't have the same effect as when he teased Jasmine. It just...fell flat.

Felicity nodded, as if she was picking up on his apprehension, "You didn't really mean Iris when you were talking about someone not seeing you the same way did you?"

Barry leaned back against the chair, finally forced to confront the question that had been on his mind the entire day, "I-I don't know" He stammered.

He watched as the blonde examined him up and down, "Barry," she leaned forward, "Is there a reason you're here with me instead back in Central City?"

He shook his head, not really believing the action. He knew there was a reason he wasn't back at STAR Labs getting debriefed. Because he didn't want to face her. The person who he had let down. The person who had been avoiding him all day.

Because he knew there was another reason he didn't want her in the field. But he wasn't sure if he was ready to face that.

Felicity reached over, grasping his hand in hers and softening her blue gaze, "Do me a favor?" He nodded, "Run back and tell her the truth?"

He nodded, and while he meant to lean in to kiss her lips, he ended up meeting her cheek instead. It felt natural. It felt better.

He smiled, taking in the sight of the woman in front of him, her smirk reminding him of another one close to his heart. One that was waiting for him back at STAR Labs, "Bye, Felicity."

The trip back to STAR took mere minutes, and screwing his courage, he ignored the drop in his stomach, the gurgling that arose when he thought of facing her, and entered her lab, taking in the sight.

Her bottom lip was turned downward in frustration, her brow creased in concentration as she pushed the black curls behind her ears, the fluorescent lighting catching the brown highlights as she turned to face him, bright eyes widening in surprise.

"Barry," She began, a confused smile spreading across her cheeks, "I uh, what are you still doing here?" He slowly shuffled forward, ignoring her question. Right now all he could focus on was the dimple on the right side of her mouth, her tongue barely poking through her teeth, the way it did when she got nervous.

"I thought you were seeing Felicity off,"

The way she said the woman's name stuck out to him the most. The soft hesitation before dropping her name, the slight hitch of her breath as her eyes flitted up and down his body. Suddenly everything made sense. Iris' comments, Jasmine's behavior. Joe's comments.

Barry realized that she was definitely waiting for an answer, and he scratched his neck, hoping he could come up with a sufficient one.

"Oh, uh," He stammered, "I just wanted to see if you were okay, you know after tonight."

She leaned against the desk, his shoulder rubbing against hers as he fell by her side. "I am," Jasmine responded, "Somehow knowing you guys were there was enough for me," Barry smiled at her comment. It was nice to see that their relationship hadn't totally been ruined.

She inhaled sharply before her next sentence, "I'm sorry I ignored you this past week," She confessed, "I was being irrational and I just-It just felt like you didn't believe in me."

Barry wanted to refute that. To tell her that he always believed in her. To tell her the truth. That losing her would be like losing his mom and dad all over again. That losing her would be worse.

His chest wanted to leap into his throat and he forced himself to swallow.

"I know that's not true," Jasmine continued, Barry's eyes flickering to the bottom half of her face.

"I always believed in you Jas," Barry continued, softening his gaze as he met hers. The writhing in his chest stopped, replaced by the fizzing he normally got around Iris.

She nodded, pressing a kiss to his cheek as she grabbed the folders on the desk behind her, "Well, anyway, uh, thanks again, for tonight."

His stomach exploded as her lips made contact with his skin, and before he knew what he was doing, his hand wrapped around her arm, stopping her from moving any further, pulling her back into his space bubble, the air between them growing thinner.

"Jas…" The name was barely a whisper on his lips, a plea meant only for her ears.

"Barry-" Her breath was hot, eyes widening as he drew closer, sending shivers down his spine as his name wafted past his face.

Without thinking he pressed his lips to hers, relishing in the taste of peppermint lining her mouth, citrus clouding his nose as the smell of her shampoo seemed to heighten. His hand brushed her curls back, cradling her neck. And then, just as he began to pull away, she began to kiss back.


End file.
